M. Stefan Strozier

I watched a strange story 0f Jesus. Now, I have been writing for many years. And, I am not sure what to say.

I am interviewing J. Matthew Nespoli tomorrow. You may be wondering why I am paying so much attention to this new World Audience author. It’s because…

1. He has an excellent book published by World Audience, and edited by Kyle Torke, our editor-in-chief. Okay, that part is easy. Kyle is what makes us great, to be honest, and our reviews are proof. And we always find the great books, written by great authors—between him and me.

2. He is marketing his book! This is what separates the men from the boys. You can be a writer in the 21st century; but if you ain’t out there with some angle to market your book—too bad for you.

3. He is a super techy. This third thing is certainly not easy, I will grant you, and perhaps because Matt is young, he is able to do it. But check out his Web site: www.nakedwordsurfer.com. He understands the Web and how to use it.

That is what it takes to be an author in the 21st century. Do you have those 3 things? I seriously doubt you do. Luckily, World Audience, Inc. has 2-3 of those bases covered in perhaps every single one of our titles!

—M. Stefan Strozier

P.S. Coming soon: iPad. Our ebooks will be selling on it like hotcakes. And since MacMillan fought to raise its Kindle prices with Amazon, I just went through and changed all my Kindle prices to $15 too!

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I am writing La Revolucion, my 5-act play about the Mexican Revolution. I am almost halfway through. Right now, I am cutting all the exposition and otherwise revising it. Once I have done that, I will overhaul it to call it Villa y Zapata: La Revolucion—based on two characters. I know exactly what to do to nail it—only a matter of time now. Plus, I am finished with the research of Moctezuma!—my next 5-act play. But, look out now! I have arrived and that one will be…

Check out this new Web site I built: www.brokenbook.org. Are you trying to be hip?—buy this excellent book:

President Obama said in an interview—to paraphrase—that he did not choose a side; but admired the Saints for all they’ve been through as a city and he likes what Drew Breeze has done with that team. And that he thinks Payton Manning is a great QB and his whole team believes in Manning as a leader; but that the Colts beat his Chicago Bears once, which did not make him happy. Then he issued a Presidential Order for a close game.

Translation: A consummate politician that carefully does not pick sides, and a diplomat who clearly states—without actually making it clear—that he is for the Saints. He carefully analyzes strengths and weaknesses, and seems to wish for a level playing field and lots of communication; but please note: he harbors grudges, so if you mess with him, he will remember it and get even one day.

Broken chronicles the tragedies of several strangers who are trying to find happiness in the city of Los Angeles. As their paths cross with one another, each of them becomes an integral thread in the fabric that unifies them and helps them heal. Skye is a teenage homeless musician battling a drug addiction who dreams of unattainable rock stardom. She’s befriended by Amber, a young mother on the run from two dangerous men from her past. The two girls form a mutually indispensable bond, one that could ultimately save them. Dylan is a pseudo-intellectual-Chuck Palahniuk wanna-be, and a total cynic. He lives with TJ, an out of work actor, who fails auditions by day, and wears a hamburger suit outside a burger joint at the mall by night. TJ and Dylan are artistic failures in need of a muse to kick start their careers. Broken follows several other interesting individuals (all based on real people), each with their own humorous twisted narrative as they try to put the pieces of their lives back together.

Who Will Win The Big Game? By Dr. Jay Granat and  Carlton J. Chin, CFA

And at www.NYTimes.com!

The NY Times is way better than the Wall Street Journal!

Who Will Win The Big Game? by Dr. Jay Granat and Carlton J. Chin, CFA is in the NY Times again! This time about how to set up a sports pool—scientifically. Well, I must be 44 this year because that’s what Super Bowl we’re in now.

Whooo Hooo!

Edited by Matt Ward, published by Mary Celeste Press!! Matt did an incredible job editing this book, it reads perfectly! And what is so cool about this book—if I may—is that it is a chronological story of one man’s life, told through each story, which is set at each stage of a man’s life, from childhood to adulthood. And the writer develops too, in the stories, applying the lessons of previous stories to new ones. And there is a finality to the last story, that closes the entire book. And the writer’s style develops too, as each story was written at the different stages of my life—but that does not mean a story written when I am 40 is better than one written when I was 20—they are just different. And they have all been edited and worked at over the years. It’s the same way my poems had a strong impact on people at a recent reading, and I wrote those as a teenager—but they were reworked many times over, while keeping the original rage. It’s a tricky balance. And I do believe I am the first to do this. There are a few other stories out there; but this represents all of my stories. It’s just really cool to see them all here, and how they tell a story. A book of stories that is itself a story!

The good reviews are coming!

I hope the COLTS win. I am a long-standing COLTS fan—even from way back. A lot of people think the Saints will win because they should win. And I should be a millionaire. And the road to hell is paved with good intentions. COLTs, win the game.

Click to read if you’re a betting man!

I see my previous post is getting a lot of attention, so I will expand a bit.

I lost my mind in my sophomore year of high school and was in a mental hospital for a year—or something like that. I came home, quickly got my head right (through poetry), finished high school, and then tried to get into the Navy. I told the Marines and the Navy the truth about my diagnosis as a paranoid schizophrenic and stint in a mental ward. And I nearly sold them, brazen as I was. But I will never forget the Navy sergeant reading to me from some official document that I had been denied entry to the service or I would go to jail and pay a fine the rest of my life. Perhaps some of my readers can imagine how I reacted to that. I went to the army and lied to them and said nothing, and checked every box (and there were legion) that I was fully sane, had never had any psychiatric treatment, etc. Then I had to live with that lie. I was prepared for that, I made myself prepared for it. I reenlisted and ended up serving 6 years in the army, and was discharged honorably, and fought in the Gulf War. I was promoted to Sgt. in 2 years to the day—unheard up in my profession. I was a good soldier. I got out, went to ROTC and entered the active Air Force as a lieutenant and stayed there for 6 years and was discharged honorably. I excelled at my first assignment to unheard of heights but the AF was ultimately not my cup of tea (too much bureaucracy–the Army was much more fluid). But I was an intelligence officer with a TOP SECRET SCI clearance. A diagnosed PARANOID SCHIZO WITH A YEAR OR SOMETHING IN THE PSYCHE WARD with a TOP SECRET SCI clearance. Did I think about that irony? What do you think?

Now, this is why I can relate to a gay person in the military. He is living that same lie I lived, and it is basically a miserable existence, and adds a huge stress burden upon you. If you can do it, you can do damn near anything, however. For this reason alone, the ban should be lifted. But while you can look at me and shake your head, you can’t do that with gays—there is nothing wrong with them. And, as I mentioned, from my observation, I think that gays are rather well-suited to military life, in fact, and are an asset we should be grateful to have.

Me, I am just frickin’ crazy. But I proved my point. I WON.

I am not one to write about politics. I am an artist. If anything, I enjoy making politicians and journalist pay severely—for anything! But I have to weigh in on a couple of fronts. First, President Obama’s aunt is trying to stay in the US. Let’s just cut to the chase, shall we? She is the aunt of the President of the United States! Do whatever paperwork you have to do to make it happen!

And secondly, I want to state unequivocally that I support removing the military’s “don’t ask-don’t tell” policy. Here is the simple logic. Do we want to win the war on terror? Do we want to have an effective military and bring our troops home? Or do we want to worship at the feet of Fox News sound bites? In fact, the gays in the military are the best troops that are serving. Why is that? Perhaps it is because they are serving under duress. I too served under duress, so frankly, I can relate. And it’s not very fun. Nevertheless, I was—in certain cases—leagues ahead of my peers. It’s a topic that could be debated at some length; but that is my personal observation. Why would American not want the best military personnel fighting for our side? And what is lost, if one must press the counter-argument?

Check out the picture in this photograph. See that door? I’ve actually been behind it. For this book, by John R. MacArthur, Second Front: Censorship and Propaganda in the 1991 Gulf War (Hill and Wang, 1992). Second edition (UoC Press, 2004), he interviewed me in his office for all afternoon, back when I was home from war in my 20s. I didn’t seek this out; in fact, I was more or less dragged there. He transcribed the entire interview and mailed me a copy of the conversation and I put him in touch with a few of my buddies, who had better information that I had. He lists me in the acknowledgments of that book. My oh my, how things have changed. I am now in the ascendancy; and poor Rick is struggling to stay alive. Note to the Rupert Murdochs and John R. MacArthur’s out there: be careful who you F with! I am closing fast, and what I am now will be much different very soon! For each misstep you take (such as Rupert’s most recent one, itemized below) and every failure you propagate, I CAPITALIZE!

But I stand with you, Rick, publisher to publisher (World Audience, Inc.), man to man, just for old time’s sake. Just remember: Old hippy publishers never die, they just run out of people to manipulate.

I finally got home after my poetry reading in Brooklyn. It took me a while because I had to beat back all the women who bum-rushed me after I finished, then we went for drinks, and some champagne bubbly in a Jaguar, and I ended up in a hottub at some point. Poetry, baby! Let me tell you: That went very well! I was quite pleasantly surprised. I rehearsed my opening hook, which is my story: “In my sophomore year of high school, I lost my mind and went insane. I was lost for months, then locked up in a mental hospital, shackled to a bed for days and my wrists bled; I was drugged and underwent treatment, and stayed there for a year or more—I can’t remember everything, because of the drugs. When I came home, I started writing poems to regain my mind, which resulted in this book, Schizophrenia Poetry. (And I met another of my authors, Pam Laskin—I have the best and brightest authors!)

KA-SLAM!! They all sat bold upright, wide-eyed. It’s clear how raw and powerful these poems are—both by how they sound and the reactions I witnessed. That plus the rhythm I’ve worked into them makes them unusual. Needless to say, they loved them! I read a whole bunch—often to applause—and said I would read one more and they said “Read more!” I finished and again they said, “Read more! Why isn’t Dave here? Call Elizabeth on the phone! This is great! Are you still medicated? He’s like James Frey; except he’s telling the truth!” It continued like that. I’m not making this up here. All my copies sold.

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I had another epiphany today about writing my 5-act play, La Revolucion, which is about the Mexican Revolution. It has to have one central character. Yes, it is very obvious! And I knew this because all my other plays have one central character. This is what Shakespeare does: Hamlet, Henry V, Richard III, etc. Although, now that I learned this central rule, notice how when Shakespeare does not stick to 1-2 main characters his plays get weaker and diffuse. And then note how a play like Julius Cesar has many sub-plots; but they all center on the main character. So my 4 Mexican plays are now:

Villa and Zapata (though this may be the subtitle to La Revolucion)

Montezuma! (with Cortes as the antagonist)

Benito Juarez

Porfirio Diaz

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I bought a copy of the NY Times today for a friend and it was $2! Two dollars! And it’s smaller. Lol!

—Tomorrow I am going to be reading at a poetry cafe from Schizophrenia Poetry. Pearch Cafe 365 5th Ave in Park Slope. F/R Train to 4th & 9th. I’m sure it’s free. I am working on my revision of that book with the help of World Audience’s editor-in-chief, Kyle Torke, PhD. Some poems will get cut, others edited. And then I will add my epic poem about 9-11 to it, and some new poems, and I think I have a mighty fine chapbook of poetry. I seriously doubt if I will ever write another book of poems, though I have tons of poems around. Despite the coming 2nd edition, this edition was very well-reviewed and there are several poems that are liked by all, so I will just read those. And I think I’ll tell my story  (since I know a thing or two of acting) about what it means to be Frickin’ Crazy! Certifiable! The drugs, the hospital, the treatment—I got it all, bitches! Schizophrenia Poetry is a fine-tuning and the result of years of precise and very focused work, which covers a large subject—like The Magical Publishing Pen: Collected Stories and a Play, which Matt Ward, the editor has cut—oh! And there is no play now. Well, it’s leaner and meaner and even more a series of focused stories covering the life of a man at each stage of life (though it only briefly notes my hospital stay). Schizophrenia Poetry is a series of windows into my life—but in a different way. The story collection is really shaping up nicely. I think I really have something simple but uniquely powerful: a series of stories—each wildly different—that individually cover a man at different key stages of his life. You see “me” develop, and can even connect the dots.  This was all 100% unintended. It’s a new genre. Can you think of any book like this one? There are story collections with themes, like Dubliners, but this is even more focused than that.

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To learn how to write a 5-act play, which is what I am doing with La Revolucion, my 5-act play about the Mexican Revolution, with 30-some characters, I am studying Shakespeare—because that is what I am trying to do in the first place—write a 5-act Shakespeare play.

And the thing I keep seeing ever more clearly is that the action is the plot. I had said that the character is the plot (I’m talking about Shakespeare here, as opposed to Aristotle’s Poetics, who would say different things). And that is still true: the characters are saying their thoughts and feelings, conflicts, etc. but all that those words are is the plot speaking. In other words, if a character is describing feeling distraught, that description of the character’s feelings somehow makes the person causing this despair seem stronger—or crueler or whatever.

Thus, this is how Shakespeare uses the action to reveal the plot in every single scene. The scenes are the characters crashing into each other—through the dialog—but that give and take is the action. And therefore, that is all he does; everything starts and ends with the action. Everything else must be cut (except maybe song). The plot has many layers in Shakespeare: the plot itself; the action or the rise and fall of the characters in each scene based on their dialog; and the characters’ lines of dialog that is the plot speaking.

La Revolucion is becoming a much different play, leaner too. There is a lot to learn but I would have never seen any of this without having written La Revolucion first, and then see it read by actors. Now I am able to experiment on a grand scale. So there’s a lot of explosions right now.

No sooner do I find a new farce to write that I find a London production by a 20-something chic English playwright is coming to Broadway called Enron. Here is the UK review of the play (and by the way, look how long this review is; and maybe why they take theater more serious in the UK than the USA). It’s 2.4 hours long. My 5-act play about the Mexican Revolution is not much longer than that. It’s a long shot, I’d say 50-50. If it does not catch, it will be gone fast. Are Americans ready for satire of the Right? Or more specifically—even though the playwright claims to be satirizing all Republicans—the financial meltdown. I don’t mean to sound like an American; but I don’t remember any of this crap—do you? Wasn’t Enron involved years ago in some sort of CEO con game that had nothing to do with the last year’s economy crisis?

Let’s just pretend for a minute that the plays I write I write to actually have someone consider producing them—you know, someone on Broadway. (And, this is why I am so proud of World Audience, because I can always publish my plays and find readers that way. Ibsen did it. It’s not Broadway, but it’s something, which is better than nothing.) How can a English playwright write about America and hope to understand it—and in satire no less? This pompous-ass European attitude is precisely why I find Christopher Hitchens irritating. Yes, my fellow Americans, I respect you. So much, in fact, that I insist you understand my satire of you! I am not writing satire about Rupert Murdoch because I hope to “educate” Americans about the “evils” of Mr. Murdoch (who came to us from Australia), or Republicans, Fox News or anything else. I am writing this satire because a) he pissed me the F off and b) I am good at writing satirical farce.

So I am going to follow Enron and I am curious to see how my countrymen and country women react to it. Will you lap of the media of the Broadway producers, who will tell you it’s good medicine? Or will you reject it? Or lick off the sugar coating and not swallow the pill?

In any event, I will still write and publish my play. It’s this same British channel that suffocated my play Guns, Shackles & Winter Coats, when Blackwatch, a dumb Scottish “play” returned to off-Off Broadway and played on the exact same dates as my play did. My play is about an Iraqi War vet with PTSD. And my play ended on Vets Day, Nov. 11th. And at the end of the day he shoots himself. It takes just a bit of cohones to do that. Blackwatch could have had any dates of the season they wanted, they’re filthy rich—and both our plays ran for 3 weeks. But they stole my dates and my customers with their stupid British crap that spat in the face of American veterans. It’s worse to think that I inspired them.

That’s what I am up against; and again, thankful for my press. I’m not going to Hollywood—that place is also crap; but I’m meeting them halfway with my Mexican plays. If you want to make a movie, I’m down on that. FUCK England. England will NEVER produce a M. Stefan Strozier play as long as I live I swear that now—and hopefully some years beyond. I’m in Jersey but New York won’t let me across the river. What’s left? France? Perhaps a move is in order.

Here’s a little marketing story for all you writers. But first, Matt Ward sent me the initial galley for my stories: The Magical Publishing Pen: Collected Stories and a Play. Matt has designed it amazingly well, I am very psyched about this book! And he is publishing it under his imprint, Mary Celeste Press (Mock Frog Press is his umbrella press, I believe, the same way World Audience has imprints, such as Shiboleth Press is an imprint of World Audience Publishers (with an ’s’). This is how we publishers roll, Jack. We always got a place for you. If not, we build a new house. I like where Matt has put me, the Mary Celeste was that ship that was found with it’s crew and passengers gone, just floating in the ocean. And my stories have the magical and supernatural or unexplained to them too.

As I was reading through them, I had forgotten just how much I have revised them over the years. The art is fully developed in each of these stories. And that arc I spoke of is there, showing my life, plain as day and it’s a very powerful motif. “This is good ****,” if I do say so myself. I think I can get a lot of reviews of this book, and it might just catch. It’s a new kind of memoir. It’s a new genre, basically.

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Now, J. Matthew Nespoli, the author of Broken, got a big review of his book in his hometown paper—page 2. There were a tad loose with the facts, but that’s okay. I could care less about facts; I’m not running for office. Matt’s phone is ringing off the hook and I am curious to see what kind of sales this creates. When I was in New York with Tonya Harding on TODAY show, and then the AP did a interview and an article, then the NY Post and so forth, that first day did not bring home a lot of bacon, for all the showy big media. Yet, Matt’s precise article here seems to be outdoing big NY media. Why is that? Furthermore, I have writers that write for newspapers, and promote their own books in those articles, and that too does not bring home much bacon. Incidentally, this is just one more example of how World Audience is a 21st century press, revolutionizing the publishing industry. The book even came from the Web in the first place. We have really come full circle, right? Matt may just bring home the bacon for World Audience finally, and allow me go to that next level.

Here is my theory: With this article, Matt has truly become a writer famous for being a writer. This is not fake celebrity; this is the real deal. He is an author that went to the big city and landed a big book deal—and wrote an excellent book! And it’s designed well too! He is famous!

So we’ll be watching these sales very closely.

I’ve started on my farce about Rupert Murdoch’s empire of wealth, power, and print. And it looks like I’ve landed yet again on a doosey. I’ve written one farce previously called The Whales, in which I viciously attacked Leftists, theater itself, and so-called “art” in America, even non-profits’ grant money schemes. You cannot accuse me of being an artist with a political agenda! Now, I go after the Right. With The Whales, I followed the Greeks of course, and Aristophanes, so I am going to the next level of farce. I’ll say this: writing, directing, and especially producing The Whales was one of the most joy-filled experiences in my life. And every single cast member said the same thing. It didn’t really catch, though it ran 4 weeks, 4 shows a week to full or nearly -full houses. No one came up to take it to the next level. Then again, did I really expect that to happen? Even the “critic” was upset with me in her lame review. But it didn’t matter; those few months were unlike any others in my lifetime. Sure, I’ve been on enough plays and they are always very “happy and joyful” blah, blah, and when they close everyone is sad. This was different. The Strozier farce is unlike anything else you’ve experienced, and in this case the actors sunk their fangs in very deeply with glee. And I revised it well after it closed, so it’s even better now. But enough about me.

Continuing, then, about me and MY world, this farce is going to be perhaps even better. And I guess I have to admit that its chances of getting picked up may be in fact quite good, especially if, say, the Right comes back into power in Nov in new and scarry ways. And with Rupert, I might as well go right into the heart of politics, and in fact the man does just that, and now with the Supreme Court’s law I have yet more ammo.

Let’s recap my writing projects and a time-frame. These aren’t in order, just how long to finish, starting now. All this in 2010 it looks like. Not only that, but World Audience has officially moved to the next level. I am no longer pushing, pushing. Now I am just trying to keep up with new orders that increase in amount and frequency each week, literally. And the excellent books keep rolling in as well.

1. Short story book: The Magical Publishing Pen: Stories and a Play. Due out in print in a matter of days from Mock Frog Press.

2. Rewrite of La Revolucion, based on the reading by Teatro La Tea and Shakespeare, and I found my book with every single play he wrote (it looks like a Bible). 1 month, then it goes to Teatro La Tea and some people in LA.

3. The Citadel, epic poem of 9-11 and last decade. Structure and format and even story are finished. Only the writing remains. 3 months and it’s done.

4. Rupert, a Farce of Power. This one will move fast, maybe 2 months to finish. It’s only 2 acts and 90 minutes.

5. The Labyrinth, 2nd Edition, rewrite based on Dr. Kyle Torke’s edits. 3 months.

6. Schizophrenia Poetry, 2nd Edition, including The Citadel and other new poems, 3 months. And with Dr. Torke’s editing.

7. The New World, next 5-act play about the Spanish invasion of Mexico. I am well into this now with the research. It will go a lot faster than La Revolucion. 6 months.

8. Next 2 5-act plays about Mexican history, first Benito Juarez and then the French invasion and independence. 6 months.

There are a few more…as you can see 2010 flying—just like I said it would. I’m just getting started. All of these works have reach and power.

I find this writer’s life fascinating. He was crazy, bragged about his talent up until he finally became wildly famous for real and then he wanted no part of it. Hmm. World Audience has allowed me to brush up against fame (celebrity, big NY or national media, and success) and it’s been very interesting to observe. I still don’t know what to say about it. Let me just tell you—as one of you myself—that fame is no joke. It is it’s own, strange thing, it’s own power. Fame is like war. You may plan and train for it; but once it hits you, you’re ****ed, and about you can do is pray hard that you live through it. But then, I’ve survived war. And perhaps thankfully it’s not my problem right now. But were it to become my problem—and that is what I work toward every day—how would I react to it? Like Mr. Salinger did?—hmm.

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Matt Ward of Skive Magazine and Mock Frog Press is “driving to the basket” with my short story book, The Magical Publishing Pen: Stories and a Play. I think I have done it again, and created something never done before—especially not by an American. There is a story for every part of my life: youth on a farm, teenager returned from a mental hospital, a young man and a woman, a war story, a young man married, a young man on a fishing boat away from his wife, a man going through a divorce and partying in Vegas too much (title story), a homeless man, a couple excellent satires, a mid-life crisis looking back at the war, and more. Then it ends with the play. I wrote each story at that particular stage of my life—or perhaps somewhat later. Then I kept revising them and as I got better at writing the stories all improved. And I even wrote the childhood story in a boy’s voice, and each story has the voice that that person was at the time it was written. But it’s not a memoir at all and in fact there is a lot of magic and fantasy, as I was trying specifically not write about myself at the time. Each story was an effort to escape whatever it was I was going through; but of course I only partly succeeded and the real me comes through. Pretty frickin’ awesome, huh? Not that I am bragging or anything. And it ends with the play, to show that I have “graduated” the school of “me” and can write about anything in theater. Get your copy today!

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In continuing to re-write La Revolucion, my 5-act play about the Mexican Revolution, based on the reading—what, last week?—I am reading a lot of Shakespeare. I am going to press on through this weekend. And now I see things that I did not before, and I am reorganizing my play in radical ways. How so, smart ass?—you ask. For example, in one act Shakespeare only has two or three alternating story lines that appear in alternating scenes. Ah ha! You see? Armed with that realization, it changes everything, and I have reshuffled the entire deck to fit that mold. Then, he connects each similar scene to the next one by a character appearing from the next scene at the end of the present one. Like this:

Scene One:

blah, blah, blah.

Hey, check out this! [All exit.]

Scene Two:

A new, unrelated area.

Scene Three:

back to the action of Scene One, now in a new place.

AND—this is very important—action is in fact capable of exposition, just as dialog is, and if action is exposition it must be cut. Whoa! Thus, all action must be presented in real-time, not told in expostion—unless telling it is part of the character’s descrition of the plot. Huh?—you say.

Take a look at President Obama fighting with Republicans today. I have to say, Obama is a cool president. We need him to hang around for 8 years, please note. Even that State of the Union address was fun—all politics aside. I can’t remember when a politician was this engaging. Clinton was smooth but still boring—”Slick Willy”. And the rest were all atrocious, as are everyone else currently.

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I had an epiphany today about my short story collection, The Magical Publishing Pen: Stories and a Play. It turns out that nearly every story is alike in one main respect: it is a story of a central character, male, against some conflict or crisis, from which he somehow prevails or at least learns something. But—and here is the hook—they are all stories from different points in my life, and at least partially based on real events. And, further, they were written for the most part at or around the time of the event, although I revised them many times, including this time, plus Matt Ward is editing the entire collection. So I have this chronological story of my life, essentially, that is one story after another, all that are very unrelated in every respect except that they are me as I go through life! And because I wrote the first drafts of each story at that certain point in my life, each story “feels” like the age it was written, even though it has been subsequently edited and improved. Finally, there are many themes throughout the stories—such as this life story of a man—and one is the growth of an artist. Therefore, I have included a one-act play at the end, which is not about me at all, and shows how the artist too finally found his voice. So I am pretty happy about that. And the fact that Mock Frog Press and Matt Ward will create a tip-top book!!