Category: writing

Ooooo Child!

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn books, writing2 Comments

I’m glad my first book didn’t land on the New York Times bestseller list for 216 weeks like John Berendt’s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. I wouldn’t know how to answer the question, “What are you doing to do next?”

The answer probably would have been “nothing.” I couldn’t live up to my debut any more than an actor or actress winning an Oscar for their first movie. Well, I guess Marlee Matlin did that in 1987, but that would be too much pressure for me.

Museum Shop » Telfair Museums » Savannah, GAI placed the following quote on Facebook yesterday and nobody knew who said it or where it came from: “Tell me something honey, how come a white boy like you is drivin’ a old, broken-down, jiveass bruthuh’s heap like this?” Okay, even with 216 weeks on the bestseller list, fame is fleeting even if you’re a saucy drag queen named “Chablis”

This comes to mind since I’m re-reading the novel and it’s just as funny as it was 27 years ago. Berendt wrote The City of Falling Angels ten years later. One reviewer said the book was pretty good but didn’t have a compelling core story. See, this is what I’m talking about. His first book was too good.

Okay, but I think I’ve turned out enough novels to say that I wasn’t ruined by the response to my first book,–or my second, &c. So I’ve escaped the curse of a fantastic successful first novel. Now that I’m safe, I’m ready for the big time, and by golly, I’m going to work toward that without a character who walks an invisible dog or a drag queen who often exclaims, “Ooooo child!”

—Malcolm

While Malcolm R. Campbell doesn’t include invisible dogs in his novels, he’s okay with a cat as a narrator. After all, his three cats talk all the time.

Keep Berkeley’s Only Hospital Open

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn California, writing

“Sutter Health intends to close Alta Bates Hospital – Berkeley’s only acute-care hospital —a move that would deprive our community of a critical facility which provides critical services to East Bay residents including but not limited to: labor and delivery, emergency services, and intensive care services. Sutter Health’s intention to close Alta Bates Medical Center will leave Berkeley and other cities along the I-80 corridor, and through the Caldecott Tunnel without access to full service, acute-care hospital. Closing Alta Bates will force tens of thousands of patients to seek care further away, endangering our health and safety.” —Save Alta Bates Hospital

Several Years ago Summit Health–owner of Alta Bates Hospital–said it would close the facility because that was cheaper than bringing it up to California’s current earthquake building codes. The hospital was founded in 1905 and years later moved to its current location on Ashby Avenue.

When Summit’s announcement was made, public officials, medical groups, and the public raised a ruckus. The noise has temporarily subsided since COVID issues are more urgent and are occupying everyone’s focus at present. Then, too, Summit said it might be 2030 before Alta Bates is closed.

Conversations are ongoing between Berkeley and Summit in hopes of finding a better answer than leaving the town without a hospital. Summit argues that in addition to costs, the hospital is too close to the properly lines for the work to be done. Maybe yes, maybe no. Perhaps the powers that be can craft a variance along with financial help.

According to Berkeley council member Sophie Hahn’s letter to Summit Health CEO Sarah Krevans, “The COVID-19 crisis is a wake-up call, reminding us of the dangers of too-few emergencyand intensive care beds. Wise public health measures and the cooperation of our community have kept infection rates manageable – so far – but with devastating economic impacts. The new surge in COVID infections is filling up hospitals once again, and capacity is threatened even in communities like ours, that have successfully implemented public health protocols.

“In addition to the current crisis, Berkeley and the entire East Bay are bisected by the
Hayward fault and vulnerable to earthquakes and catastrophic fires. If Alta Bates were to close, how many might be left without care in the next disaster?

“The closure of Alta Bates would compromise access during an emergency, and even
under normal circumstances would negatively impact healthcare for all East Bay
residents, in particular the elderly, working families, and communities of color.”

2030 is not eons away when it comes to major projects, so the state and city need to keep their eyes on this problem rather than a solution that’s worse than the dangers. Summit’s solution, telling people and ambulances to drive over to its Oakland facility is misguided.

Yes, I have a personal interest in this hospital because I was born there.

—Malcolm

Florida Folk Magic Stories: Novels 1-4 by [Malcolm R. Campbell]Malcolm R. Campbell is the author of the mystery/thriller “Florida Folk Magic Series.” You can buy it in a four-in-one set on Kindle and save money.

I left my heart in San Francisco

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn San Francisco, writing

Mission Dolores Park with city in the backgroundMy family lived in the San Francisco Bay area when I was born. I saw them later on visits while in elementary school and later as an adult. Two perspectives: family and city attractions through a child’s eyes and man’s eyes.

I father’s sister Vera lived up the hill from Mission Delores Park for most of her life, communting to and from work on the J Church Street car that ran along the park’s edge.  When I was in the navy, I lived in an apartment next to Mission Dolores Park a short walk from Vera’s apartment. When I wasn’t using my car, I also commuted in and out of town on that J Church train in Dolores Park, May 2018.JPGsame old street car to the terminal where I mad connections for a bus ride across the Bay Bridge to Alameda where my ship was in port. That Naval Station is no longer there.

When I was a child, the family often visited my great Aunt Claire in a nursing home in the 1950s. She was still living in that same nursing home in 1968–all those years: hard to imagine. When I saw her in 1968, she was sharp and alert and spoke one minute about going across country in a covered wagon when the family moved west from Iowa and then about the policies of the Nixon admiistration that she didn’t approve of. She lived to be about 103 years old.

San Francisco Bay Historic Cable Car Steep Streets Alcatraz California Stock Photo - Download Image Now - iStockLesa and I went to San Francisco on our honeymoon in 1987 and there was my old world in another incarnation, a married man “seeing” the cable cars, Golden Gate Park, and other sites from my wife’s perspective. Of course we sent to fisherman’s wharf, changed over all the years, and enjoyed the cable cars. And, we visited the family that was still around.

When I was young, I thought I’d end up living in San Francisco. I loved those wonderful hills. But as I grew older, the city grew out of reach: I could no longer afford it. The three-story aparment building where my aunt lived is now a private home worth around $2,000,000. And then, too, all  my employment offers were in the Atlanta area which is quite another world. And that includes California politics which have slid further to the left than I carew for.

Vera’s old house is still there with a blur from Google Street View. She lived on the top floor with a bay window that gave her pretty much the entire city to watch. Years ago, a short dead-end street ran behind the buildings so I always parked my car at the fourth floor level and walked in her back door. I’ve cropped the picture close to avoid showing the modern home built on the right that doesn’t match the neighborhood (and looks ugly).

I had plans for this house when I was little and didn’t know the ways of the world. I always thought it needed an elevator. In many ways, my heart resides in on 20th Street between Sanchez (where Vera lived) and Dolores (where I lived).

Unlike Tony Bennett, I can’t (on the advice of my lawyers) sing the old song for you, you know, the one about little cable cars climbing halfway to the stars, so this post is a brief taste of where I grew up off and on.

–Malcolm

Devastating weather in Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn Storm Weather, writing

If you haven’t seen the pictures of the damage caused by what some are calling “The Quad-State Tornado,” you will. Some say one massive tornado traveled 250 miles. Some say, the weather was made up of a family of some thirty tornados. Kentucky took the biggest hit and may well have suffered its worst weather day in history.

North Georgia escaped, though it was dark here most of the day with exceptionally heavy rain. As with hurricanes, it’s hard to feel much joy in dodging the major thrust of a storm when that means it caused death, destruction, and property damage somewhere else.

According to WikiPedia, “The most prolific activity was caused by a long-track supercell thunderstorm that produced a family of strong tornadoes, if not a single long-track tornado, across four states. The tornadoes first touched down in northeastern Arkansas, before progressing into the Missouri Bootheel, and western portions of Tennessee and Kentucky, ripping through towns such as Monette and Leachville, Arkansas, and Hayti and Caruthersville, Missouri before crossing the Mississippi River into Tennessee and eventually into Kentucky, where the town of Mayfield suffered catastrophic damage.”

That all this occurred during the holiday season makes matters worse.

Whatever else I might have written today pales into insignificance as those of us–especially in the South–are thinking about Kentucky. On Facebook, when an area or a family suffers a loss, people often say “My thoughts and prayers are with you.” I’m not sure what this means other than the fact it’s become a handy cliché along with “I’m so sorry to hear the news.”

Do these comments help? Perhaps as a way of acknowledging that somebody else is suffering and/or has experienced a loss. We are saying, via clichés and better words, “You are seen and your suffering is seen and your loss saddens us.”

We are not gods. We cannot “fix” this. Perhaps one day we will know how to build affordable structures that are immune from high winds. But not today. Today we are sad. Tomorrow we may find ways to help beyond what first responders are doing already. Many of us will find ways to reach out.

Malcolm

What does “Save Your Cans” mean?

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn war, writing2 Comments

When I saw this 1940 poster drawn by McClelland Barclay in support of the war effort, my first thought was “Why did they want people to save toilets? Were they re-used in barracks?”

The cans rolling out of a machine gun like spent shell casings, while probably not an accurate portrayal of how the cans were used, pretty much dimisses the toilet idea.

I’m a fan of old posters, partly due to their art work and partly due to their protrayal of the culture of another era.

According to The Price of Freedom: Americans at War website, “Posters during World War II were designed to instill in the people a positive outlook, a sense of patriotism and confidence. They linked the war in trenches with the war at home. From a practical point, they were used to encourage all Americans to help with the war effort. The posters called upon every man, woman, and child to endure the personal sacrifice and domestic adjustments to further the national agenda. They encouraged rationing, conservation and sacrifice.”

These posters, available on Amazon, show that we were a very different nation in the days following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor:

If I were a history teacher, I would show these in class, not as propaganda, but as a window into the past that would–I would think–help start some great discussions.

—Malcolm

At Sea by [Malcolm R. Campbell]I had the look and feel of such posters in mind when I created the cover art for my Vietnam War novel “At Sea.” I took the cover photograph with a 35mm camera while stationed on the USS Ranger (CVA-61) inthe Gulf of Tonkin. I wanted to show a typical flightdeck scene.

Do I really need an e-mail address from this blog site?

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn blog, writing2 Comments

This promotion from WordPress has been running on my dashboard for a while. The good news is, it doesn’t seem expensive. The bad news is, it doesn’ seem expensive. I suppose this is a good service for those who can really use it. Yet, for those of us who probably don’t need it, $3.50 a month looks quite different when I add that up to $42.00 per year.

If I’m James Patterson or John Grisham, then maybe having my entire media presence tied together makes sense. However, if I’m any of those people, I don’t really need everything tied together because nobody’s going to notice it or care about it one way or the other.

My first question to WordPress–if we were having a discussion about this–would be: “Will that $42.00 e-mail address sell more than $42.00 in books a year?”

I’ve done a lot of things that were supposed to portray me as a professional writer. My view is that most of them weren’t noticed by the people they were supposed to influence: publishers, movie studios, agents, bookstore, book distributors, and prospective readers. Needless to say, looking bad isn’t good, though looking good may not be as important as the people selling writers all these “makes you look good” services say it is.

It comes down to this: if you can afford to throw money at your book marketing, you don’t need to throw money at it. If you can’t afford it, it won’t help.

You’ve probably guessed that I’m not going to add a malcolm@malcolmsroundtable.com e-mail address to my life.

On the other hand, if you think I’m wrong about this, please send me $42.00 and I’ll give it a try.

—Malcolm

Malcolm R. Campbell is the author of a lot of books that should be on your bookshelves.

Home from the north country

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn family, writing2 Comments

My wife an I spent a wonderful Thanksgiving week with my daughter and her husband and my granddaughters in Maryland. We hadn’t seen the family in two years due to my cancer radiation treatments and the COVID pandemic. We spent a lot of time just hanging out at their house enjoying being together again. Johanna’s husband Kevin fixed the Thanksgiving dinner after which I told him that if he wants a new career path he can become a chef.

War Correspondents Memorial ArchMy daugher, who admits she is a planner, set up some great activities. I already posted about the pinball games in the grocery store. We visited a museum of civil war medicine, the war correspondents memorial arch at the Antietam Battlefield park, and enjoyed walking through the beautiful festival of lights at nearby Gaithersburg.

Both granddaughters (Freya and Beatrice) are enjoying their ballet. In fact, both of them are dancing in the Metropolitan Ballet Theater’s production of the “Nutcracker” and “The Nut Cracker Suite this past weekend and next weekend in Rockville, Maryland.

Both of them like puzzles, Bebe (Beatrice) likes morning “nature walks” with her mother, and Freya carries around a sketchbook which she focusses on with persistance and passion. Both of them smile a lot and play together in a way that makes me smile and try to remember what life was like when I was that young.

Fortunately, our flights up and back went smoothly and were on time. Standing in the TSA line, especially at Reagan airport in DC, was tiring, and tedious. Flying while wearing a mask, while no doubt necessary, was unpleasant. While we were gone, our three cats were  checked on daily by a neighbor friend just down the street. We’re both still tired from the trip. Not long after we got home, I fell asleep in the living room recliner and the cats all climbed aboard.

What a great Thanksgiving! The granddaughters grow and change to fast, we don’t like missing out on visits. Their parents grow and change, too, but I’ve been instructed not to take pictures of them. I may have accidentally taken a couple <g> but I’m not posting the evidence here. Lesa and I hope we can dream up some more great experiences for next year, hopefully with fewer pandemic mandates and other hassles, perhaps at a place without those low temps and cold winds.

—Malcolm

Here’s a sleigh full of gift ideas, all available in e-book, audiobook, paperback, and hard cover editions. Click on the graphic to buy the books from Amazon. You’ll also find them online at Barnes and Noble and other venues.

Sunday’s Gallimaufry

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn Potpourri, writing
  • Homeowner captures an alligator to bring home and show his kids, Texas officials sayIn yesterday’s news, we heard that a Texan captured an alligator to bring home and show his kids. Those on Facebook who saw my post about this story weren’t amused. Needless to say, he wasn’t allowed to keep it. No word on the kids’ reactions. Frankly, I think this looks too large to be a pet.
  • I’m happy to see that Smoky Zeidel, my colleague at Thomas-Jacob Publishing, has come out with a new edition of Who’s Munching My Milkweed. This edition features her husband Scott’s cool artwork. The book is currently available as an e-book and a paperback, with the hard cover to appears shortly. From the publisher: When Ms. Gardener discovers something has been munching on her milkweed plants, she embarks on a fun and educational monarch butterfly journey that enchants both children and adults. From egg to larvae (caterpillar), to pupa (chrysalis) to adult (butterfly), Ms. Gardener watches over her friends to ensure they make the journey safely.”
  • According to Publishers Weekly, attempts to ban books have been rising. “New headlines virtually every day tell the story: across the country, there is an unprecedented spike in attempts to ban books from schools and libraries. And while efforts to remove books from schools and library collections are not uncommon, librarians and freedom to read advocates warn that this current spike in challenges is different, as it appears to be part of a broader political strategy.” We must remain viligant.
  • No photo description available.My wife and I are planning a long-awaited trip to Maryland to see the granddaughters. COVID kept us away last year. One year, our rental car was so snowed in, we couldn’t use it. Everyone took turns shoveling away the towering drift. We definitely don’t want to come home with another photograph like this one.

Best wishes for a happy Thanksgiving.

—Malcolm

When the pharmacy loses a prescription

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn issues, writing2 Comments

The stranglehold doctors and pharmacies and the feds have on prescription drug is always hard to navigate through, much less cope with.

My wife had three refils on a prescription. After getting two of them, the pharmacy says there isn’t another one. The doctor says there is. Making matters worse, the pharmacy has lost the original paper. They won’t budge.

Rx Symbol Images, Stock Photos &amp; Vectors | ShutterstockOur only hope is that the doctor will call in a new scrip. Meanwhile, the situation causes a lot of stress. My libertarian viewpoint is that we should be able to buy the drug without a prescription. First to avoid the hassle that occurs when things screw up. Second to get drugs available out of the control of big pharma and find a way to take bottles of pills that cost pennies to make away from those who charge thousands for a handful of pills.

The system is broken in so many ways. But, the fix is a political football. Meanwhile, a lot of people are hurting.

–Malcolm