Heroes(Aspen - CO) - Mike Royko, Art Buchwald, Dave Barry, Pogo, Opus. All of these gentlemen (and cartoon characters) have had a big impact on me over the years. Satire and hyperbole have been mainstays of my humor; I've worked with too many grown men with names like Toad, Sharkhead, T-Bone, Uncle Itchy, and Woodchuck to maintain a normal, healthy existence. Instead, my passion for creative writing has simmered like a volcano under a sleepy little Mexican village, and the ideas that are coming into my brain are causing the rumblings of a soon to be major eruption of Jerry Beglyisms. Using the relief valve of Letters to the Editor, I have put a fair amount of my thoughts on paper. When life is serious, so are my letters, but by far and away, my favorites are when I can poke the government, or some silly idea right in the eye, using Swiftonian tactics. |
My New Book(Marble - CO) - I recently wrote and illustrated (cartoon style) a children's picture book entitled "Dad, the Tooth Fairy Didn't Come!" The dummy copies sold by word of mouth like hotcakes, while I tried to obtain the fair graces of an agent, and simultaneously contacted agencies which viewed my completed book. I received some of the nicest rejection letters of my life during this quest. One agency offered to have their employees come and babysit my seven kids on the first Monday of each month. Another publishing house sent me round trip tickets to Hawaii. The best rejection letter included stock certificates for 51% ownership in the parent company. Probably the worst rejection letter I got was accompanied by a dozen black roses. Like Don Quixote, I pressed on... |
After a lot of studying, and some insider information, I decided to publish the book myself. Treesock Press debuted the book on February 14, 2010. Since that time, copies have made their way to England, Brazil, China, Canada, and to various points across the U. S. I'm having difficulty keeping the book in stock. So much for "I don't think your book will be able to compete in this market". Grab your copy now at http://www.jerrybegly.com/tooth/ while the online discount is still in effect. (There are a limited number of discounts left.) |
My Future(Marble - CO) - Between building my house with my children, teaching skiing, and freelance cartoon work, I'm having a hard time deciding which way to point my long-range writing missiles. Should I work up enough essays to try my hand at newspaper columns? What about magazines? I've got five book ideas baking in the sun of the wide, serene, stretches of beaches of braincells in my mind. |
My Past(New York - NY)One of the books that I already wrote and illustrated is now in the trashcan. Pixar Pictures has just released a new movie which uncannily follows my idea. I'm not discouraged. Instead, I am thrilled that my idea was right on, but that Pixar sure beat me to the punch. This happened one other time. I flew to New York to meet with the big cartoon syndicates and show them my new comic strip called "Camp Pinetar". Jay Kennedy of King Features really liked it, but said that the timing was wrong. Not too long after that, a new Saturday morning cartoon came out and guess what? It was about a summer camp, and had some weird similarities to what I had shown around Manhattan. In a quirky turn of events, one of the characters was voice-overred by the comedian John Candy-I taught John Candy's son how to ski. Go figure.
To sum up the ramblings, I will be writing a lot in the near future. Watch for it. And if
anybody would like a couple hundred dozen black roses...
Jerry Begly
|