Something to Talk About

This is the coolest coincidence…yesterday, I contacted my hometown newspaper,  The Star News, in Medford, WI, to ask if they would like to  print a blurb about my book signing this Saturday at Cover to Cover Books and Gifts in Tomahawk, WI–a nearby town–for my novel PERIPHERAL VIEW.  I knew it would be very short notice for the paper, but I thought it would be fun to see if any old friends recognized me (although my name has changed a couple of time since I graduated from high school so many years ago), and if they’d come to my book event, so I gave it a shot.

Kindly enough, the editor asked me for a press release, and said that he would get something in the paper this week. Okay, so I suppose you are wondering what the coincidence is. Well, my brother, Roger Engel, is a singer with a couple of CDs out. He has a gig at a restaurant (Camp 28 Bunkhouse and Saloon in Rib Lake, WI), also near my home town, on Saturday night. I sent him the press release, sort of as an afterthought. Roger emailed me back to tell me that he was running an ad in the Star News this week to announce the gig! I had no idea.

Now, you might not think this is too exciting of a coincidence at first blush. Maybe not even at second blush. But do you want to know who does think this is exciting? OUR PARENTS!

Yes, to our 80-year-old-parents, this is great stuff.  They’ve lived in Medford for years, and it will be the top of the talk for them for a few weeks. Actually,  with two of their children (no matter how old they are) show up in the local paper in the same week, this will be worth conversing about  for quite a while.

Medford is a small town, but I’m looking forward to seeing friends and family this weekend. Old friends, if you have ever wondered what I’ve been up to, please swing by Cover to Cover Books–and then check out Roger’s act at Camp 28 Bunkhouse and Saloon in Rib Lake on Saturday night. And if you happen to see the Star News blurbs, comment here and let me know how it looks–I don’t get the paper here! (However, I have a feeling that my parents will have a copy of it, don’t you?)