It's been a long time since I said anything new on this page, and it's not because I haven't wanted to. I have three good reasons.

First, I've been trying to finish a second book. I started it in December and posted an excerpt from it in February. I had a draft in early March. Before handing in into my publisher, I sent it off to a few people to make sure I'm not totally off my rocker, and they quickly responded. The bottom line was, I'm off my rocker. I've heard from friends who are writers that second books can be tough, but I had no idea how tough. In any event, I spent April and May rewriting, and I shipped the thing off last week. It's good, I think. Of course, that's what I thought last time. I'll let you know what happens next.

Second, I've been working hard trying to get word out about the first book. This involves working with a publicist, publisher, agents; writing thousands of e-mails, sending out hundreds of books, and generally making a nuisance of myself.

And third, I've been practicing law for the first time in a long time. The less I do, the harder it gets.

But now I'm ready to unload, and there's lots to talk about, although I can't possibly include all the new because A, there's way too much of it and B, I begin to feel kind of egotistical talking about me, me, me.

But anyway, here's the highlights. BOOKSENSE chose MM as a Top 20 book for July. Given the sorts of books they typically choose---um, like, real novels that smart people read---I'm really happy about this.

The Buffalo News, Compulsivereader.com, and San Francisco Magazine have all done fabulous prepub articles on the book.

BloomsburyUSA, which is unquestionably the best publisher and the nicest and smartest and hardest working group of people on the planet is taking out an ad in the Fiction Issue of the New Yorker, which comes out in the middle of June. As I've dreamed my whole life about having my name in the New Yorker, this is highly thrilling for me.

As for appearances and so forth, all of that can be found elsewhere on this site. Not surprisingly, the ones that are most exciting for me are those that involve Manilow. I'm seeing the show in Vegas on June 5, and signing books at the Mandalay earlier in the day. And plans are all set for the June 17, Manilow Mania--Barry's Birthday Bash show at the Red Devil Lounge in San Francisco. If you are in the area, please come. It promises to be an epic evening.

Believe it or not, Paramount optioned the rights to MM, which means if all goes well there's going to be an hour-long television series some day.

A lot of people---Manilow fans and others---have asked whether I've heard from Barry about the book. The answer is no. I sent him an advance copy a few months back, and I sent him the final thing fairly recently. But still no word. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. A nod from the man himself would be bigger than all the good reviews combined. The good news, though, is that the fans have been incredibly supportive and kind.

Finally, because I can't possibly help publishing myself when given the opportunity, here's a very short speech by my narrator, Gordon Seegerman, from the second book, which is actually a prequel. The speech occurs on the occasion of the band's first gig ever, at a dive bar in Santa Rita:

"Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, I ask you to rise above the petty criticisms. Rise above the snide remarks. Rise above the cheap jokes, the looking down the ends of your noses. Let go your presumptions. Let go your prejudices. Tonight we’re going to aim beyond the clouds and rise above the crowds and ask one simple question: Barry Manilow? And we’re going to answer that question without hesitation or apology. We say, yes. Barry Manilow. Yes."