"Lost" on the Radio

At 4 a.m. Friday I dragged myself out of bed and into the shower where I tried, unsuccessfully, to wash away the sleep from my eyes. In another 2 hours 5 minutes I'd be making my radio debut and somehow would have to piece together coherent sentences. At 4 a.m. that seemed like a long-shot, since just opening my mouth to brush my teeth was a struggle.

The evening before I'd spent rehearsing. I'd come up with some canned answers for the softball questions that could be anticipated. But I fretted over the unknowns -- those killer darts that can come out of left field at any time.

At 6 a.m. I called into The Frank Truatt Morning Show in New York. Initially I spoke to a program director who thought I was someone else. This didn't seem to bode well. But when I repeated my name he seemed to understand and transferred me to Frank, who greeted me briefly and told me I'd be on the air in about 4 minutes.

The 4 minutes I was on hold seemed like an eternity as my heart raced at Indy speed and my palms dripped with perspiration. Meanwhile, through the phone earpiece I'm hearing what the weather and traffic are like in New York. 

Suddenly Frank is chatting with his sidekick about the Cubs and I realize that this is the lead-in for my interview. And just like that I find myself on the air.

The first couple questions are ones that I'd prepped for. This is good. I regurgitated my canned responses and managed to speak without tripping over my own words.

But then came that projectile from deep left field. Frank wants to know about my former "career" as a pilot. Huh? 

I gather that he read my online bio and my passing reference to how I began college studying to be a pilot. But as I note in that same bio, this was a career that for good reason was grounded before it ever took off, 25 very long years ago.

Well I think I handled that shot out of left field maybe not like a major-leaguer but a well-traveled semi-pro player and even managed to steer the interview back on the base path. 

All in all, my radio debut seemed to go pretty well. I said most of what I had hoped to say and didn't stumble over my words, a somewhat remarkable feat when you consider that I got into writing because of my shyness and general verbal clumsiness.

The interview essentially came to an end when Frank's sidekick quipped, "I think I already know who the murderer is...Steve Bartman."

In hindsight, I could have responded that I was in attendance at the infamous Bartman game. Instead, I gave a well-rehearsed chuckle. My 10 minutes in the dim early morning limelight of New York were history. I was mostly just relieved that it was over and ready to go back to bed. Unfortunately, I still had a workday ahead of me.    

Making News

After 17 years away, my name is back on the pages of the Martinez News-Gazette.

The Gazette, a daily based in Martinez, Calif., was the place where I began my first career, as a journalist. Way back in 1986, the News-Gazette's managing editor at the time, Robert Osmond, took a chance on me and put me on the Contra Costa County beat.  Looking back on it, I don't know how big of a chance he took, considering that he was paying me just $200 a week. But it was a job. And, at the time, that's all that mattered.

I continued to work at the News-Gazette for two years and covered some significant stories during that time. I developed a particular interest in environmental issues and wrote recurring stories and columns about a devastating oil spill from the Shell Oil refinery in Martinez and the closure of the IT Corp. toxic waste dump there. I made some good friends while working there and look back fondly on those days.

Now the News-Gazette is the first newspaper that I know of to write about my fiction debut, Lost in the Ivy.  The story, by reporter Catherine Hess, under the headline, "Two former Gazette reporters publish books," appeared on the front page (yes, THE FRONT PAGE) of The Gazette's Weekend Edition, July 16-17, 2005. Hess wrote:

For readers, community newspapers deliver local stories. For writers, a newspaper such as the Gazette often serves as a launching pad for careers as writers.

Two former News-Gazette reporters have recently published their first books. Randy Richardson, who covered the Contra Costa County beat from 1986 to 1988, is based in Illinois. His novel, Lost in the Ivy, was published last month by PublishAmerica.

The story goes on to tell more about me and my book. Many thanks to The Gazette for the story and for bringing back some great memories.

My little book is making more news. In the coming days I expect to be telling you more stories about that, as those stories emerge. 

For Appearances Sake

The Toddler has an insatiable appetite for books. Just about every other week now we feed his hunger by loading up on books at the library, checking out a dozen or so at a time.

So I've become a regular library visitor.

But I have a rather embarrassing admission to make. I can't remember the last time I checked out a library book that was not from the children's section.

Until The Toddler entered my life two years ago, I don't think I had even stepped in a library in almost a decade. Almost any book I read I bought, which I'm sure the authors appreciated.

This admission is by way of introduction to the latest news on my Appearances page. In the last week I've added four promotional appearances for my fiction debut, Lost in the Ivy. Each of these will be at libraries.

I'll be making three talk/reading/signing appearances at libraries near Rockford the weekend of September 24-25. Each of these will be joint appearances with historical mystery author and Chicago native N.S. Wikarski. On Saturday, September 24, we'll be at the North Suburban Library District's Roscoe Branch, 5562 Clayton Circle, Roscoe, IL from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and at the District's Love's Park Branch, 6340 North Second Street, Love's Park, IL, at 2 p.m. On Sunday, September 25, we'll be at the Cherry Valley Library, 755 East State Street, Cherry Valley, IL, at 2 p.m.

Much farther down the road I'll be appearing with 17 other authors at the Indian Trails Library AuthorFest 2006 in Wheeling on April 8.

If you live in or around any of these communities, please stop by and visit me. I might need someone to point me in the direction of a section that isn't intended for kids. 

First Amazon Review

Hey, just a short note to thank Intl Johnny "Dogman" for my first Amazon review -- and a 5-star review to boot! It will make you thirsty for a pint of Honker's Ale. And hopefully hungry to read my book.

"Lost" hits the major online book retailers

What a surprise I got this evening when I typed "Lost in the Ivy" into Amazon's search feature. Yes, there it was. MY book. As green as it can be.

Then I took a quick jump over to Barnes & Noble's online store and typed in my book. And, lo and behold, there it was again. MY book.

You can't see this, but my fingers, right now, they're dancing on the keyboard. "What a feeling..."

Oh, no. They're not dancing to "Flashdance". I must be giddy.

Please stop me before I get to that scene where the water splashes over me. The best way to do that? Order the book, of course. Many copies. The more the better. Oh, and tell a friend or two to do the same.

Here's the direct Amazon link and the direct Barnes & Noble link to the book.

And after you've read the book, if you like it, be sure to write a review of it on Amazon. Let others know. That's one of the best ways to get the word out. 

Update on Friday, July 1, 2005 at 08:41PM by Randy Richardson

It looks like I'm going to have to dance naked in the streets. A few hours ago I sent a newsletter to my mailing list subscribers reporting that Lost in the Ivy debuted on Amazon at No. 12, 177. In that newsletter, I noted that a 5-digit ranking for a little book like mine is a huge success, especially when you consider that there are more than 2 million books available for sale on Amazon. I was so pleased that I mentioned that if my little book ever got a ranking in the 4 digits I would be dancing naked in the streets. Well, guess what folks? As of 8:45 CST, Lost in the Ivy had climbed to No. 5,373!

I know this won't last, but it sure is fun right now! Many, many thanks to all of you out there who are buying my books. It means so much to me that people will actually pay money to read my words.

Who knew that dancing naked could be so much fun?