Thursday, May 26, 2011

Jack Tripper Stole My Dog = Now Available

By Pauly
Los Angeles, CA



The moment has finally arrived. You can now buy a print copy of Jack Tripper Stole My Dog. The best way is to use this link:
http://tinyurl.com/JackTripperBook
Please note the Kindle/e-book version will not be available until mid-June.

In case you missed the trailer...



Click here to buy a copy.

Here's some info like FAQs, the website, Facebook page, and @JackTripperBook on Twitter.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Jack Tripper Stole My Dog Podcast, Episode 1: The 10-Day Novel and Flushy

By Pauly
Los Angeles, CA

I recorded a brand new podcast (around 5 minutes in length) to promote Jack Tripper Stole My Dog. Nicky interviewed me about the accelerated writing process surrounding the novel and she questioned me about the highly controversial scene involving someone's head getting flushed in the toilet.

Listen here...


If you want to download the mp3 and listen to it later, click here to obtain the link.

Buy your copy here.

Monday, May 23, 2011

French Debut

By Pauly
Los Angeles, CA


While I'm banging my head against the wall with Jack Tripper Stole My Dog and trying to punch the ball into the end zone, across the pond Lost Vegas made its French debut to many positive reviews from non-poker press. My editor Jerome told me the French version was released on Friday, which meant I officially made it as a writer.

Lost Vegas will be getting comprehensive coverage in the national French media, and maybe this DSK scandal will boost sales? Here's what to look out for....
- radio coverage on Europe 1, France Culture

- TV coverage on Canal plus on two shows at least : La Matinale and Edition
Speciale

- national press coverage : Les Inrockuptibles (best cultural weekly magazine),
Rock&Folk, Libération (daily press), Magic, Vice Magazine (pretty good hipster
stuff), Le Monde 2, Alibi magazine, etc.
So if you're in France the next few weeks, keep an eye out for any press about Lost Vegas!

While I'm mentally drained about the final stages of JTSMD, the news about Lost Vegas's successful launch in France came at the perfect time. Jerome and Benjo (who translated it) worked hard on this project for almost 2 years, so I'm glad their diligent work is being recognized and the project is off to an auspicious start!

By the way, follow @JackTripperBook on Twitter to get advanced info on the specific release date for JTSMD.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Monday, May 16, 2011

West L.A. Punk

By Pauly
Los Angeles, CA

I sat in the diner this morning and looked up at a patch of blue sky above the bank across the street. A couple of chemtrails zig-zagged above. I ask myself every day, "What the fuck are they spraying?" And why are they trying to manipulate the weather?

The older I get, the weirder and more complicated basic things seem to be. And the more I read, I come across more and more questions. And as I true to figure out answers, I have thousands more unanswered questions and very few answers -- and even then, most of those answer seem like hogwash to me, which is to say, any melancholy is derived from questions that can be answered, but are not.

Someone once asked Buddha about the meaning of life. Buddha responded by saying that some questions in life will never be answered, so you should stop asking stupid fucking questions.

The fucking is my emphasis. Even Buddha had the occasional bad day. If I was Buddha, I'd be on mega-tilt from sheeple asking stupid questions like "what is the meaning of life?" and "why is the government spraying shit into our atmosphere?"

Buddha also said life is suffering. Now you know what it's like living in Los Angeles. This city is the ultimate test of Buddhist principles of tolerance and forgiveness.

Case in point: the old man who challenged me to a fight.

Not just any fight, a bare knuckle brawl to the death in the middle of the intersection of Westwood and Olympic Blvd. Here's the backstory -- I had an early dinner with Nicky. She was working and I had the day off but I didn't want to miss the end of the basketball game (technically that's work, but that's a story for another time), so we opted for an early Sunday meal at the diner. We finished up and I was antsy about the score which I religiously checked on my CrackBerry. Nicky was driving and we got stuck behind a car going 5 mph in a 25 mph. I must have said something like, "Fucking Sunday drivers! I gotta watch D-Rose dismantle LeBron and D-Wade!"

Nicky tooted her horn. Perfectly acceptable considering the circumstances. At a red light, the passenger side window rolled down and an old guy popped his head out the window and started screaming at us. Our initial reaction was -- laughter. Then he opened up the car door and screamed some more. He was wearing a suit. He looked like a cross between Montgomery Burns from The Simpsons and of JD Rockefeller (from old photographs when he lost most of his hair). I couldn't hear what he was saying because Nicky was laughing so hard I thought she was going to wet herself.

The laughing provoked the old guy.

He was even more pissed off and he wasn't even driving. Those duties belonged to a woman in her 40s (dressed in black with a weird hat). The old man was simmering over with road rage. Using a cane, he made his way to our car. I rolled up the window and locked the door -- just in case.

The old man stood in the middle of the second lane of Olympic Blvd. and screaming, yelling, and challenging me to a fight. I noticed he was missing the most of his teeth. He had what looked like several ID badges around his neck. I wondered if he had escaped from a nursing home.

I was in a no-win situation. If I accepted his challenge and proceeded to deck the old crazy man, then I'm the bad guy who beat up an old man. All I kept thinking was "I hope the light changes soon" because I didn't want him to start banging on the window with his cane.


I was reminded of the Yanks-Sox brawl with Pedro Martinez and Don Zimmer. As much as I can't stand Pedro, he did the only thing he could do -- push a charging Zimmer aside -- and even then he took a ton of guff for defending himself. As much as Pedro had no problems plunking Yanks hitters, he had some semblance of compassion when a pissed old guy challenged him to go at it.

The light changed. Nicky was still laughing as she peeled away. Laughter subsided into sober reality. Thank God he didn't have a gun.