I made the mistake of minoring in Business when I went to college. For one thing, I’m not a numbers cruncher and still today don’t remember much of what I learned in my business classes (something about assets and liabilities). For another, it destroyed my Grade Point Average, which is why I would tell prospective employers after I graduated what my major GPA was, not my overall GPA.
Despite my struggles, my favorite business class was Basic Accounting, what people back in the day would call “Accounting 101,” and even though the stuff I was learning was pretty standard (it’s right there in the course title!), I worked harder than pretty much at any other course in my 4 years at college just to maintain a B average, something that would make the nerdy high schooler in me gasp in horror. I also really enjoyed my teacher, who was always quick with a well-timed quip. (Who knew accountants could be hilarious?) On the final day of exams, my teacher walked into class, slammed the large pile of test papers on his desk, paused for dramatic effect, and said, “Well…this is it.”
I laughed like a maniac. So much so, I actually had to apologize to my class, who had no idea why I was laughing. Even though it was probably unintentional, to me, what my teacher said was the perfect punchline to the long, difficult experience of trying to pass that class. Why am I bringing this up now? It’s because after years of working and sweating and slaving away to get my book out, it’s finally available now.
Well…this is it.
It’s here! It’s finally here! People can stop asking me when it’s coming out every time I post a blog! Will it be a bestseller? Will it bomb? Only time will tell! (But it’ll probably be something in-between.)
I’ve updated this site to include the link to purchase the book on Amazon at the bottom of every major page, not the individual blog pages (a Barnes & Noble link will follow in a week or so, and the eBook will be available in about a month), so be like the Hulk and smash that button! If you’d rather shop local, just go to your favorite Mom and Pop bookstore, and they’ll happily order a copy for you. And don’t forget to tell me what you think on my Contact page, unless you hate it. Just kidding…kinda.
As for the future of this blog, the purpose of it was to document the lead-up to the publication of Danger Peak, and now that it’s here, there seems to be less of a reason to blog. Truth be told, many entries had nothing at all to do with my book (remember that blog about “The Twilight Zone”?), so it’s possible I’ll continue writing.
There were many surprises in my blogging journey, one of which is that most of the people who chose to follow my blog are people I’ve never met. (C’mon, Facebook people, where y’all at?) Also, people found a way to get updates to my blog without opting in to receive their free copy of Lists, Life, and Other Unimportant Details, since they didn’t submit their email address in the opt-in box at the bottom of the Blog/FREE Book page. (Once again, if I don’t have your email, I can’t send you the PDF. Sorry, but that’s just basic logic.)
Probably the biggest surprise of this blog was having the executive producer of “Muppet Babies” “like” my blog on the show on Twitter, when I didn’t even tag him or the show. Apparently, Twitter is much more powerful than I realized.
I never meant for this blog to last forever. There are only so many ideas I haven’t already covered in my 270-paged blog book. I’ll still continue blogging on this site, but it will probably be less frequent—maybe once or twice a month instead of once a week. Of course, if there’s a major development with my book, such as a review from a major source or an upcoming promotion, the blog will be here to document it. And I may as well use this opportunity to put it out there in the universe: If you have a podcast or work for a website/newspaper/magazine, and you’d like to review my book and/or interview me, just get in touch with me using my Contact page.
Until then, happy reading!
MTP
P.S.: This is the first blog I’m not including a P.S.! Oops, too late. Well, now that I’m already writing one, here’s another Amazon link for the book:
Danger Peak 