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March 5, 2007
That about sums it up: Universal Hub's announcement of my book release party:
Dave Copeland's book about New York's Israeli mafia, Blood and Volume is coming out and to celebrate, he's holding a book-release party on Thursday, March 8, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at The Living Room, 101 Atlantic Avenue (617-723-5101). Free appetizers and an open bar, at least until enough people show up. Labels: bloodandvolume
Posted at 12:42 PM
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Serenity now: The 85-year-old Alzheimer's patient I met yesterday was asked by a nurse how he had managed to stay looking younger than his years. He thought for a moment and said "I was too busy to get old."
He thought for another moment and added "And try not to worry too much about anything."
For me, the past week has been an exercise in trying not to worry too much about anything, or at least not worry about the things I can't control.
I can't control what a reporter chooses to write and, in the end, I need to follow my own mantra about publicity: as long as they spell your name right. I just wish she could've spelled the name of the book more frequently.
I can't control that I have to spend most of today without a car that needs one last round of repairs following last week's break in.
I can't worry about the notice Amazon sent to everyone who has pre-ordered the book giving them an inaccurate ship date (but if you did pre-order the book please log into your Amazon account and let them know you still want it).
But the biggest stress inducer of the past week was the thought of having a book release party without books. A little known trick of the book printing business is that printers assume that books will come in past deadline so they overbook their presses to minimize idle time. The problem is that sometimes books all come in on time, meaning that a book has to be bumped and rescheduled.
So last week I found myself promoting a March 8 book release party for a book that isn't going to ship until March 16. The purpose of Thursday night is not -- and never has been -- to sell books, but I was assuming some of the 150+ people planning to attend would at least want the option of buying a book.
I'll spare you the details of lots of angry phone calls and just share the email that announced the eventual solution to our dilemma:
THREE WAYS TO BUY BOOKS AT THE BLOOD & VOLUME BOOK RELEASE PARTY
We're looking forward to seeing you and more than 150 of our friends at the Blood & Volume Book Release Party on March 8 at the Living Room in Boston. We wanted to let you know that you will have three options for buying books on Thursday night.
1) Barricade Books is printing a limited edition, paperback version of Blood & Volume that will only be available for sale at this event. The cost of these books will be $12 and they will be available the night of the party.
2) If you prefer the standard hardcover version of the book, you can pre-order a copy at the party. These books will be signed and shipped directly from the author as soon as they're available. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. You will also have an opportunity to note the inscription you would like Dave Copeland to write when he signs your book. The cost of these books will be $22, including shipping.
3) Purchase both both books for $30 and save $4 on your order.
In all three cases, we can accept cash or personal checks for payment.
Once again, we're looking forward to seeing you Thursday night. As always, thanks for your continued support.
-- The Blood & Volume promotions team.
In the end, it may end up being a better option than the original plan. I realize that $22 is a lot to spend on a book, so this gives people a cheaper option. Those sales won't register in my royalties report but I'm not concerned about it -- preorders are off to a great start and I expect a second printing (hopefully an on time second printing) in short order. If some of the paperbacks remain unsold after Thursday night, my publicists can use them for a second round of media promotion (Have I mentioned Melwood Global, my public relations firm? They're great and I would highly recommend them).
But more than anything, I'm just looking forward to Thursday night. Short of getting married, releasing a book is the one chance you get to throw a party for yourself, and I'm going to get to see people I haven't seen in months, years and, in a few cases, a decade. RCF has taken the lead in planning and execution so outside of a Thursday morning trip to Leominster to pick up the special editions, I can pretty much sit back and enjoy the day.
The release party is open to the public and you and whoever you'd like to bring are welcome to attend.
Details:
Thursday, March 8, 2007, 6:30 - 9:30 p.m., Boston, Mass.:
Blood & Volume book release party. Author reading and signing, appetizers and open bar.
Try not too worry too much about it. It will be fun.Labels: bloodandvolume
Posted at 8:57 AM
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March 4, 2007
For what it's worth: Today's Jerusalem Post article on Ron Gonen. I've asked for a correction that clarifies that Gonen was NOT a co-author of the book. The article, as written, implies that it wasn't a journalistic effort.
Gonen says that he is not overly concerned about his fate following the release of the tell-all book. "It's a lot less scary than what I went through 18 years ago. Not to compare. That is the price of doing business. I always knew that whoever stayed alive, their hate remained stronger than their logic," he said. "I sleep [well] at night. I never worry. It's not an option, because I know that if it happened, I wouldn't know about it. Nobody will torture me, just kill me." Also note the reader's comments about Gonen at the bottom of the article.
Labels: bloodandvolume
Posted at 8:17 PM
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March 2, 2007
International Exposure: Gonen and I are scheduled to be featured in a front page story in Sunday's editions of the Jerusalem Post.
And Gonen seems to be loving this opportunity to talk to someone other than me about his life.
I spoke with the J.P. reporter for about 40 minutes on Thursday and then Ron called her for his interview.
Nearly three hours later the reporter called me back to let me know how the interview was going and that they planned to resume their discussion on Friday.
"You're still talking?"
"Oh, we're only up to 1974," she said.
They're supposed to be doing the second part of the interview at some point today. I'm guessing this will be a rather extensive article. And that Ron will have a rather massive phone bill this month.Labels: bloodandvolume
Posted at 2:55 PM
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March 1, 2007
Anyone out there read Hebrew? Photos from the Ran Efraim shooting in Tel Aviv on February 1.
 Labels: bloodandvolume
Posted at 10:50 AM
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Upcoming radio interview: Ron Gonen and I will be featured in a segment about Blood & Volume and the Israeli Mafia on PRI's "The World" on Friday, March 9. The show is broadcast on 220 stations in the U.S. and has an average audience of 2 million listeners. Check here for your local station.
In Boston, the World can be heard on WGBH-FM (89.7) at 4 p.m.
In related news, I made some updates to the Blood & Volume Web site.Labels: bloodandvolume
Posted at 7:26 AM
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February 28, 2007
One less gangster to worry about: Eran Hiya, the son of one of the key figures in Blood & Volume, is going to jail for 13 years.
*big sigh of relief*
Hiya's father, Eitan (whose last name is spelled Haya in U.S. court documents) served 12 years in a U.S. prison for crimes committed by the Israeli mafia in the late 1980's, including conspiracy in the 1990 murder of the gang's leader, Johnny Attias. Eitan Haya returned to Israel a few years ago and is believed to be active in the Tel Aviv underworld, as was his son before yesterday's sentencing.Labels: bloodandvolume
Posted at 11:37 PM
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February 26, 2007
Smiling Gangster: A PDF version of yesterday's New York Daily News article, complete with a photo of Ron Gonen and the book cover.
(I'm back from a weekend in Hyannis and catching up after a 3+ hour drive home in the snow. Regular blogging will resume at some point).Labels: bloodandvolume
Posted at 4:15 PM
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February 25, 2007
Blood & Volume in today's N.Y. Daily News: Read about Ron Gonen and I.Labels: bloodandvolume
Posted at 7:55 AM
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February 23, 2007
Interesting email of the day: I'd like to say this is because of my burgeoning international fame as an author, but somehow I think I'm being mistaken for Stuart Copeland:
Subject: Greetings from your Web site
Hello, My name is Rafal. I am from Poland. My English is not very good. I am Autograph Collector. I am your and The Police (my femous band) big fan ! Please, send to me your two original signed autographs - one for me and one for my brother ;). My adress: XXXX Thanks!
Im really waiting for it!
Best wishes!
Your big fan: Rafal Tamila What the hell? I'm gonna send him a couple of autographs anyhow.
Labels: bloodandvolume, life, writing
Posted at 10:13 AM
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February 21, 2007
Amazon Connect: I've been playing around with this Amazon program this morning. Apparently, once Barricade verifies me as the author of Blood & Volume, I'll be able to post messages directly to my customers. I've been having trouble updating the feed from this blog (recent posts don;t seem to load), but it still seems like a great promotional tool for any one trying to move books on Amazon.
My profile is here. If you use Amazon -- and it seems there are a lot of people who do use Amazon like a MySpace for book nerds -- add me as a friend.
Thanks for the tip, Taryn.Labels: bloodandvolume, books, writing
Posted at 11:58 AM
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February 20, 2007
New York Schedule Change: My "Meet the Author" event at the Barnes & Noble in the Bronx has been moved to April 14 at 1 p.m. I still plan to be in New York from March 10-13 for documentary filming.
Please update your calendars and keep an eye on my appearances page, which should be filling up in short order.Labels: bloodandvolume
Posted at 4:00 PM
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February 19, 2007
This dreadful life: I was in Kinko's the other day, picking up a 24 by 36 inch blow up of the Blood & Volume cover that we'll be using for the book release party, the documentary and other appearances. The guy ringing me out, if I had to guess, was in his mid-fifties and took an immediate interest in the artwork and the book.
He asked a series of increasingly "in the know" questions. Was I self-published or did I have a publisher? Which house? How long did it take me to write the book?
"You're talking to a writer, you know," he said after his inquisition.
A writer who was still chasing the dream, and still making slightly more than minimum wage. Still wearing a uniform to work.
"So are you working on anything at the moment?" I asked after he told me about a book that was "pure pulp" that he and a team of writers had written in 11 days in the 1970's.
"I have a couple of projects I'm working on." But it wasn't too convincing and it had the tone I'm a little too familiar with -- the tone of someone who has some good ideas but between work and family and other commitments, no time to get those ideas off the ground.
In a day in age when companies can outsource contract writing jobs for the price of 10 or 20 words per penny and when even the top glossy magazines are still paying the same per-word rate they paid 40 years ago, writing doesn't always seem like an occupation. It's a lottery. For every Grisham and King there are tens of thousands of writers -- some talented, some not -- working menial jobs and wracking up debt while waiting for a break that may never come.
If I'm going to get a break, it's going to happen this year. Beyond the release of Blood & Volume, there's a chance I could sell the film option to the book. There's a chance the documentary focusing on me and the book will be a huge indie success. In April, RCF and I head to L.A. to pitch "Camp" to anyone who will listen, and our prospects seem better than average.
There's a good chance all of these things will click and regular readers of this space will be able to say "I knew him when..." But at the same time there's a chance none of it will come together and I'll still be here a year from now telling you all about the next book (which is quite funny), the next film project (which is unique) or some other project which hasn't even been hatched yet.
It's an ugly, nerve-wracking way to make a living and there are days when the old me -- the me that was angry, bitterly begging for a heart attack and hopped up on too much coffee but shrouded in the security of a 9-to-5 job -- doesn't seem all that bad. When people ask me "How did you get into writing?" or "Why did you choose journalism as a career?" I tell them "It's the only thing I know how to do."
And they laugh because they think I'm joking.
The point of all this? I don't know. Attribute it to too much cold and flu medicine and too much time to do nothing but think about my career as daytime television commercials for the ITT Technical Institute play in between grim-faced Sokolove ads.
Or maybe just wish me luck. The next six months pretty much determine whether I win the lottery or become some hack who needs to decide whether its time to grow up and get a real job or start working at Kinko's as I devise a new plan to take one last shot at the title.Labels: bloodandvolume, life, work, writing
Posted at 2:11 PM
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February 14, 2007
Key figure in Blood & Volume killed in Israel: Ran Efraim, one of Ron Gonen's best friends in the 1970's and 1980's before turning on him as Gonen refused to deal heroin for the Israel mafia, was killed on Feb. 1 in Tel Aviv:
"Investigators believe that the shooting may be related to gangland vengeance, like Wednesday's bombing attempt that seriously injured known criminal Shuli Rokach. Unlike that attack, however, police believe this suspected hit is tied events that occurred over a decade ago."  And those events are all the events covered in Blood & Volume. The Jerusalem Post article about Efraim's killing butchers some of the facts (for example, no one ever found out who killed Johnny Attias, only who plotted to have him killed) and they go with some different spellings of the names than the U.S. Court system. But for the most part, it's a fairly good overview and shows that people in the Tel Aviv underworld are still rather pissed about what happened in the 1980's.
Last week I mentioned that Ron Gonen had been terminated from the federal Witness Protection Program and faces possible deportation back to Israel. He remains calm about his plight and has begun working with an immigration attorney to make sure he can stay in the United States, as he realizes that going back to Israel would be a death sentence.
Since then I've gotten some interesting questions, including one from Potts in comments:
"I know that Henry Hill eventually got booted from the program, as did Sammy Gravano, but I don't believe that either of the books about them had anything to do with it. If you can discuss it, what makes your book different for Gonen?" The short answer is "I don't know." Anyone entering the program agrees to not discuss their life in the program, so this wasn't entirely unexpected by me or Gonen. Why the U.S. Marshal's chose to terminate Gonen before the book was even released and waited until Hill and Gravano had committed other crimes isn't quite clear to me. By all accounts, Ron Gonen has led a law-abiding life since his arrest and entry into the program in 1990, but I suspect the government is a bit more sensitive to these issues after seeing the very public antics of people like Hill.
In an email, Finy asked the following:
"Was reading the post you wrote about the Gonen and the Witness Protection Program. You talked a lot about how Gonen was feeling about it, and you're right he seems to be dealing amazingly well, but I was wondering how YOU felt about it. I know we don't really know each other, hell we've never even met save for a few emails here and there, but I can't help but put myself in your shoes. I have no idea how I'd deal if I knew that something I had written had had that kind of effect on someones life." I guess the realist in me says that Ron Gonen is an adult, and a rather intelligent and competent adult at that, so he knew what he was getting into. This was a risk we talked about in our very first conversation in January 2005. But at the same time, and journalism rules be damned, when you spend more than two years talking to someone by telephone almost every day, you do develop some sort of relationship. I'm still hard-pressed to define that relationship but I would, without a doubt, feel an impact if anything bad were to happen to him.
The real dilemma for Gonen is not that he got thrown out of the program but that he faces deportation to a country where people he testified against still allegedly operate as criminals. If he were a U.S. citizen he would be, in a word, fine. He could remain in hiding forever. For now, Gonen remains in hiding and will do so in the coming months of immigration status hearings.
And until those hearings play out, it's too soon to see how much of a gamble Gonen took. And, by extension, it's too soon for me to figure out how I'm feeling about it.Labels: bloodandvolume
Posted at 6:48 AM
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February 12, 2007
Copeland's ARC: I met with my publicists this morning to go over the final details for the Blood & Volume marketing campaign and to see if there will be any traction on Ron Gonen getting thrown out of Witsec (damn you one last time, Anna Nichole Smith, for dying on the same day that Gonen gets thrown out and bumping us off of Page Six).
They had received the Advance Review Copies and brought one along for me. ARCs are the cheap, paperback versions that are sent out to reviewers and other people who may cover the book's release, and they also marked the first time I got to see B&V in something resembling book format. Not nearly as exciting as holding the actual book (and scheduling problems with the printer prevent me from knowing when I'll be able to do that for sure), but still kind of a cool moment as the writing process winds down and the publicity winds up:
 Labels: bloodandvolume
Posted at 2:17 PM
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February 8, 2007
How to get thrown out of the federal Witness protection program: The short answer is "Talk to me."
Ron Gonen, the central figure in Blood & Volume: Inside New York's Israeli Mafia, called a little while ago to say that he had done just that.
This morning Gonen met with some officials from the U.S. Marshal's office, which oversees the program. He was asked to sign a series of documents and asked if he had any questions. He said no and was then asked if he knew why he was being terminated. He nodded yes, motioning to a draft of the book that he had brought along with him and was sitting on the table throughout the meeting.
He had brought the draft to show that the book doesn't address his life in the program, except for a very brief section at the end, and even then, no specifics are given that would compromise his location or safety. Gonen asked them if they wanted a copy of the book. The agents said no.
"It's going to be out soon enough as it is," they said, according to Gonen.
When I talked to him on the phone after the meeting was finished he seemed in remarkably good spirits for a man who faces possible deportation to a country that is home to a few of the surviving men that he testified against. The program is set up so foreigners like Gonen get a identity card each year that allows them to legally stay and work in the United States. That card expires in April or May, at which point Gonen could be in trouble.
But if he can work through the immigration troubles, Gonen seems to think things will be better for him. It gives him some mobility to move around and may make it easier for him to find steady work. Try being a real estate agent when you can't use your picture in your advertisement.
Indeed, Gonen expected this. When the Marshals told him at the end of the meeting that he should contact an immigration attorney he could tell him "I already have." He's meeting with the attorney within the next few days at which point I hope he will have a clearer picture of his short-term future.
He doesn't see his change in status as a threat to his safety. He is still in hiding and if he did have advance notice that people who wanted to hurt him were in the nameless city where he now lives, he's certain he would've been told there was nothing they could do because it was his own fault when he called the Marshal's for assistance. And if someone did still want to hurt him more than a decade after he finished giving testimony, Gonen suspects they would've found him already.
"Does a hit man give a shit who is protecting me if he got paid? Not at all," Gonen said.Labels: bloodandvolume
Posted at 4:03 PM
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February 2, 2007
Another day, another interview: I'm interviewed on Tim Jackson's Maybe I'm Amazed. I talk about book groupies (sort of) and other literary stuff, as well as my taste in music.
And don't forget yesterday's interview at tellhimfred.com.Labels: blogging, bloodandvolume, books, life
Posted at 3:46 PM
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February 1, 2007
Me as a regular person: I am featured in today's edition of tellhimfred.com's "Interviews With Regular People." I talk about Blood & Volume, book promotion, film, blogging and my "to do" list system for keeping organized and productive.Labels: blogging, bloodandvolume, books, life
Posted at 9:10 AM
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January 29, 2007
I'm back from New York: And apologies for not tipping off most of my New York friends that I'd be in town -- it was a packed, last-minute trip that lasted for less than 24 hours and didn't leave me much time to hang.
Every trip to New York gives me a charge. It's the place where people go to give up on their dreams or pursue them with gusto. From a creative standpoint, it's a lot like traveling to Europe (minus the long flight, awful exchange rates and feeling like a foreigner). I'm dog tired when I get back but I want to work, throw some more irons onto the fire and get some more projects in motion.
Over dinner last night we worked out details for promoting Blood & Volume and finalized some loose ends for the book release party on March 8. Over breakfast we hashed out the outline for a new project, a screenplay that's part "Wall Street," part "Blow" and part "Old School." Over lunch we networked with someone who may have contacts we can exploit to distribute the documentary. All that in addition to the real reason why I was there (a job interview -- more on that later).
But the highlight was not work related. It was a trip to Chumley's.
 I have been to Chumley's about half a dozen times before. It's an old speakeasy with no signage on its exterior. Just a door as if it were the entrance to an expensive Greenwich Village apartment. Chumley's is rich in history -- if you've ever used the term "86 it," you can thank Chumley's: "According to legend (which party pooper McDermott disputes) the term '86 it' for 'kill it' or 'forget about it' comes from a warning the cops would give, phoning ahead to Chumley to let him know they were on the way and customers should '86' or book out the entrance/exit."
I had been there about half a dozen times before, but have never really picked up on how literary it is. We sat in back and soon noticed the framed jackets of famous (Catcher In The Rye, The Great Gatsby) and not-so-famous (UFO Exist!) books. A note on the menu said that the jackets decorating the bar are from books written by guests of Chumley's.
I was a guest of Chumley's and I immediately wanted the B&V cover on a wall. Even if it does look like someone dropped their kids on it, it's an eye-catching cover that would jump off of those walls. It would be installed long after smoking was banned in New York bars, meaning it wouldn't be as faded as, say, the cover of Calvin Trillan's book, so it may stand out and move a few copies.
A waitress told us the note on the menu was "bull shit." To get a cover on the wall I'd have to talk with the owner and show that I was a regular at Chumley's (geography makes that difficult). To make it more difficult, the owner is vacationing until the end of March.
"Or you could just slip it in when no one was looking," the well-tipped waitress said. "No one would notice."
I should have copies of the book in another couple of weeks and will hopefully have reason to be in New York shortly thereafter. I'll try to convince the owner I'm a regular, but even failing that, don't be surprised if you see the B&V jacket up there sometime soon.Labels: bloodandvolume, books, newyork, travel
Posted at 8:52 PM
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January 27, 2007
Saying "no" to Boston: I'm making a smart decision today, but it's still a tough one.
Yesterday I was asked if I wanted a number for the Boston Marathon in April. It would mean raising $3,000 for Leukemia-Lymphoma Society as soon as possible and catching up with my training over the course of the next few weeks. My fears would be reversed from my last marathon: the last time I worried about training but wasn't too concerned about fund raising. This time I'm certain I could get through the training, but the fund raising is the sticking point.
I'm asking a lot of people I know this year. Loads of people I know gave generously to my Dublin Marathon effort, and loads of people are being asked to buy my book, attend a book release party and book signings, and just generally be supportive as I embark on another first-time adventure.
And training would not have been a picnic, either: the three months between now and Boston are the three months where I need to focus almost exclusively on book promotion and selling the film rights. Camp, our T.V. series, seems to be getting a second wind, and it looks like I'm going to be the subject of a documentary film on releasing book. I'm training for several half marathons and I'm staying involved with Team In Training by becoming a volunteer mentor with the season that kicks off next week. It's an exciting time, but, for example, trying to find time to squeeze in a 20-mile run when I'm in Pittsburgh in late March doesn't seem like it would be all that easy.
Boston is on my list and for the past 24 hours it's been exciting to think I'd be able to check it off in just a few more months -- especially where so many of my friends are running this year's Boston Marathon. But there will be other Boston Marathons and taking a few more months to recover from Dublin is probably the smart and prudent thing to do.
I don't have to make a final decision until Monday and if 100 people left comments pledging $30 donations between now and Sunday night I may very well be tempted to change my mind. But for now this seems like the smart thing to do -- plus I have Red Sox tickets for Patriots Day, so it's not going to be all bad.
Since I won't be running, I'll repeat a plea I've made before. If you are reading this and want to support some people who are running Boston for a good cause, consider making donations to any and all of the following:
http://www.active.com/donate/tntma/tntmaKFlynn1 http://www.active.com/donate/tntma/run4acure http://www.active.com/donate/tntma/lpepicelliboston
http://www.active.com/donate/tntma/tntmaJRaymon http://www.active.com/donate/tntma/tntmaMMilanoLabels: bloodandvolume, life, running, TNT
Posted at 11:41 AM
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