Ramble on, get too wordy—that kind of stuff.

I don’t want to do that.

All I want is to offer up a BIG THANK YOU to Daniel Peters of Hal-Leonard Corporation.

At Hal-Leonard, Daniel represents song composers and publishers, and he administers the rights for lyrics reprints. I contacted Daniel in February for permission to use certain song lyrics in my book. His response was immediate, efficient and, best of all, positive.

One of those “Sure we can do that,” type of responses.

Over the ensuing months, I became, let’s say, a little frustrated with the delays and complexity associated with obtaining permissions from other publishers. It was then that Daniel showed his professionalism—not to mention, for someone so detached from my writing project, his enthusiasm. He suggested catalogs I might want to browse, he outlined some of the composers and publishers his firm represented, and he offered his thoughts about the likelihood of obtaining lyrics permission for the songs I had in mind.

All to say, not only did he save me time and frustration but, by pointing me in the right direction, Daniel helped me select compositions that were more simpatico to the book’s premise.

Now, that’s what I call above and beyond.

And so, once again, with gusto, thank you Daniel. You, sir, are the man.

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I’m leaving town tomorrow and will be out and about, with neither cellphone nor computer, until September 24th. Unless I come across a web-enabled machine during my travels, you’ll see no update on this blog ‘till I’m back.

In the meantime, thanks for reading my posts. I truly appreciate it.

While walking up one aisle, then down another, ogling one intricate design after next, I got to thinking of the talent, imagination and artistry that goes into guitar-making. It’s sort of like writing a book, I guess (although, given I’ve never built a guitar, I really don’t know for sure. And, anyway, thinking back on my blatant ineptitude in high school woodworking class, you wouldn’t want to see me even attempt the task).

But after arriving home late last night and after collapsing into bed, I immediately approached that not-quite-awake-but-not-yet-asleep state, the one that had me slowly replaying images of those magnificent instruments. That’s when I knew for sure, just before drifting away. Yep, guitars are like books. Here, let me show you a few examples.

Daddy Mojo Guitar

I don’t know about you, but this interesting work of art (and my best friend, Nino’s hands-down favourite) reminds me of an outlaw. And when I think of outlaws, I think of Elmore Leonard. I didn’t get to try this instrument, but I bet it plays just like one of his books reads—edgy, maybe a bit off-balanced, and always intoxicating.

Benoit Maillette

A Benoit Maillette electic guitar–can you picture Gene Roddenberry writing about space travel, modeling USS Enterprise prototypes,  and somehow coming up with something like this? Well I can.

Fabrizio Alberico

What this photo only hints at is the level of craftsmanship and the attention to detail that Fabrizio Alberico lavishes on his work. Every feature is carefully thought through, every component artistically crafted and lovingly assembled. If you’ve read David Adams Richards’ The Friends of Meager Fortune, you’ll know what I mean.

John Monteleone

A  John Monteleone guitar is like an Ayn Rand novel, especially Atlas Shrugged. Big, bold and mysterious.

Peter Malinoski

Hunter S Thompson. For sure.

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I’m out of town for about a week, away from computers, wi-fi, cell phones and the other accoutrements of modern living. I’ll report back soon. Thanks for reading my blog.

I thought now might be a good time to fill you in on where things stand on the publishing front. I’ve  written, re-written (countless times) and self-edited the book. All that’s needed, really, are two song permissions  (see a prior post about this) and professional editing. I expect the lyrics approval by late June, and I hope to have editing completed by late July or early August.

Once that’s done, my plan is to release the book via podcast, and to quickly follow that up with a free eBook. A printed version will come last in that chain of events. When will it be ready? I believe September is a realistic target.

In the meantime, I’ll continue updating events via this blog and twitter, and I’ll also provide some insight into the philospophy, rationale (and whatever other stuff I think of) that prompted my to write the book.

Thanks again and talk to you soon.

“Then” in my case,  was three years ago, when I started working on the book. Not too long after writing the first few chapters, Charles–the main character–began to demonstrate, almost by osmosis,  his love of music, and his fondness for his iPod.  Before I knew it the iPod, and the music it contains, became one of the book’s key themes. The lyrics Charles listens to influence his moods and introduce discussions about despair and hopelessness, about perception and potential, and, finally, about money and true freedom.

Of course, while writing, I knew I’d have to eventually obtain permission for those lyrics. What I underestimated was the effort involved.  Six months into it (and notwithstanding the counsel by some to simply ditch the lyrics – but how could I? That iPod defines Charles), I’m almost there.

I had to substitute some lyrics along the way (The Beatles? Very costly. Pink Floyd? Too time-consuming), but thanks to a kind and helpful Permissions Administrator (who I will give a Twitter shout-out to once he, ahem, gives me permission to do so), I managed to wind my way through the, seemingly, never-ending maze.

So lesson learned. Next time, get permission closer to the start of the project rather than right at the end.