Introducing the brave new (and often perplexing) world of e-publishing

As I mentioned yesterday, my writing pal Mary Gillgannon conducted a program about publishing and e-publishing tonight at the library.

We heard about Mary's path from traditional publishing (and early success) to kind of a publishing black hole that coincided with the corporatization of the publishing world, and then the advent of digital publishing. 

About a year ago, she decided to transform her backlist titles into e-books. Most were not in electronic form, so she had to pay to get them scanned and formatted, and then new covers created. She tackled the "painstaking editing process" which included some revision as "after 15 years, you want to change some things," presumably because you're a better writer.

She then launched the books into the digital world. 

She promotes them on her own web site and through organizations such as Romance Writers of America and Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. Since many of her titles are either "Celtic Romance" or "Regency Romance," she often wears period costumes when she reads and signs her books. The colorful green dress she wore Thursday night she bought at the Renaissance Festival in Colorado.

She spent an entire year entering the e-book realm.

"I didn't have time to write," she said. "I became a publisher instead of a writer."

She is back to writing now and now has a new self-published book to her credit. It's called "The Silver Wheel: A Novel of Celtic Britain." It was a book that she tried to sell to traditional publishers. Editors and agents told her that it didn't fit neatly into any category. It was too long. The ending was too depressing (lots of people died). They thought that her heroine was weak.

So she went back to the drawing board. She changed the working title to "Sirona," the name of her heroine. She got rid of the lead male character. As a result, the book became more Sirona's book than anyone else's. 

Still, it didn't sell.

"I decided to put things back in that I took out," she said. "Then I had the book I wanted."

She was selling copies of "The Silver Wheel" Thursday night. It's a beautiful book. I bought a copy for my wife, Chris. I'd read it in a previous incarnation as a member of our shared critique group. It had changed, but because I know the quality of Mary's writing and storytelling skills, I told Chris she would like it. 

Among our critique group members, Mary is leading the charge into this new technology. She's selling books, too, but not the ones she thought would be hot properties. 

"My Regency Romances are selling at a faster rate than the other books," Mary said. She's sold up to 200 titles of one of her Regency titles, while the other romances limp along in single-digit sales figures.

But she's in it for the long haul. She's spent quite a bit of time and money in this pursuit. She's beginning to make that money back, slowly but surely. 

She's discovered a few surprises along the way. When you get your book on Amazon, it's offered five days for free. As it sells, it moves up the "free list." People notice the author's name and book title and also figure that the book is worthwhile so they "take a chance" on it. Often they will actually buy the next title in the series. And they may refer their friends to the series and those people may buy both titles. 

"It's a bizarre marketing technique, but it works, " she said.

Mary has noticed that the promotion of her books is a never-ending task. Of the half-million books on Amazon, 13,000 are historical romances. 

"To be noticed, you have to have a presence on the web," she said, noting that she's upgraded her web site and provides direct links on it to her books on Amazon. At this point, she doesn't sell directly from her web site.

Meanwhile, the hunt continues for traditional publishers.

"I still have a couple books that I'm trying to sell to publishers. But even if they decide to publish them, they will expect me to heavily promote them. Authors can't just sit in their offices and write any more."

She has eight more finished books that she could put out as e-books. She also has more than a dozen book proposals at various stages of completion. 

"My challenge is to live long enough to do all this," she concluded.

Question for Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso: Why did you vote to block jobs bill for military veterans?

Wyoming Sen./Dr. John Barrasso, running for re-election, voted today to block a jobs bill for military veterans. He was joined in the naysayers' column by Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi. The $1 billion veterans' job bill needed 60 votes to proceed. It was blocked 58-40. All no votes were by Republicans.

Senate Veterans' Affairs Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said the cost of the bill, $1 billion over five years, is offset. She noted that a vote to block the measure is tantamount to saying the nation has done enough for veterans.

"A vote to support this point of order says that despite the fact that we have paid for this bill, despite the fact that one in four young veterans are out of work, despite the fact that veterans suicides are outpacing combat deaths, and despite the fact that more and more veterans are coming home, we are not going to invest in these challenges," Murray said.

The nation owes veterans "more than just a pat on the back for their service," she continued. "We owe them more than bumper stickers and platitudes. We owe them more than procedural roadblocks that will impede our ability to provide help now and into the future. We owe them action."

Murray continued: "We owe them real investments that will help get them back to work. And that's what this bill does."

I'm voting for Democrat Tim Chesnut in the Wyoming U.S. Senate race. Maybe he will vote for benefits for our military veterans. On Sunday, Sept. 23, Tim will host a barbecue and fund-raiser from noon until 3 p.m. at the picnic shelter in Holliday Park in Cheyenne. Get more info by calling Barbara Guilford at 307-634-0309 or Michael Crump at 307-631-9569.

In Randy Newman's new satiric song, the narrator dreams about a white man for president

Nonesuch Records is offering a free download of Randy Newman's new song, "I'm Dreaming." I've always been a fan of Newman's songs is which an unidentified narrator is singing about a controversial topic. In "Sail Away," the narrator (a slave trader?) is urging black Africans to go to America:

In America, you get food to eat  
Won't have to run through the jungle and scuff up your feet 
You just sing about Jesus, drink wine all day  
It's great to be an American
 
Ain't no lions or tigers, ain't no mamba snake  
Just the sweet watermelon and the buckwheat cake 
Everybody is as happy as a man can be  
Climb aboard little wog, sail away with me

In "Short People," short people are singled out for ridicule by someone who may or may not be serious. In "Political Science," the right-wing Bircher narrator urges us to "drop the big one now" and "Boom goes London, boom Paree." In "Louisiana 1927," the rich and powerful are shown as oblivious to the plight of victims of natural disasters. This song received lots of airplay after Hurricane Katrina:

Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away
Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away

President Coolidge came down in a railroad train
With a little fat man with a note-pad in his hand
The President say, "Little fat man isn't it a shame what the river has done
To this poor crackers land."

"I'm Dreaming" is also one of Newman's "character" songs. Here's an interview with him on the Nonesuch site (thanks to Meg Lanker-Simons in Laramie for the tip):

Randy Newman’s new song, “I’m Dreaming,” is available as a free download below, where you can also watch the accompanying video. With lyrics from the viewpoint of a voter who casts his ballot solely based on skin color, the song draws attention to something Newman has noticed and written about for 40 years: racism in America. (The complete lyrics are below as well.) While the song, which Newman performs solo at the piano, is free, anyone wishing to contribute is encouraged to donate to the United Negro College Fund at www.uncf.org.

Newman explains, “No other Western industrialized nation would’ve elected a black president. I’m proud of this country for having elected Obama in 2008. But from the beginning of his term, I noticed a particular heat to conversations that wouldn’t ordinarily generate that kind of passion: The budget, appointments, health care.” He continues, “I think there are a lot of people who find it jarring to have a black man in the White House and they want him out. They just can’t believe that there’s not a more qualified white man. You won’t get anyone, and I do mean anyone, to admit it.

“I often write songs in character. You can’t always trust or believe the narrators in my songs. So why listen? Good question.

“Anyway the guy in this song may exist somewhere. Let’s hope not. Vote in November.”

Author Mary Gillgannon talks about publishing and e-publishing Sept. 20 at the library

My writing pal, Mary Gillgannon, is conducting a program at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 20, at the Laramie County Public Library in Cheyenne. She'll be talking about the strange world of publishing and the even stranger world of e-publishing. She will be answering questions and sharing her experiences in those odd realms. I also hear that she is making her delicious chocolate chip cookies for treats for the people who show up. So show up.

Let's pause for an unpaid commercial announcement:

The Silver Wheel, a novel of Celtic Britain, available now at
http://marygillgannon.com

I read an early version of The Silver Wheel at our critique group. It is terrific, made even better by the revision process. 

Zombiefest in Cheyenne looks frightfully good

Rich guy Mitt Romney trashes the rest of us in recent speech

See the secretly-recorded video, and read Mitt Romney's remarks to his rich donors, in David Corn's piece in Monday's Mother Jones. Here's a sampler of how Romney really feels about the rest of us:

There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax.

What a schmuck!

Democrats walk neighborhoods for progressive candidates this weekend

On Saturday, Sept. 22, Democrats will be walking the mid-town Cheyenne neighborhoods for one of the few women in the Wyoming State Legislature, Mary Throne of HD 11. We will be meeting at Mary's house, 720 E. 19th St., at 1 p.m. Mary is running against Republican Jerry Zellars, who hasn't been seen on the stump too often -- maybe he's lying low, waiting for a last-minute surge. Or maybe he thinks that having that (R) next to his name is all that he needs to beat Mary, the incumbent (D).

Weird, isn't it, that women are a scant minority in the legislature of The Equality State? Keep Mary in the mix!

Lee Filer is a Democrat running in House District 12. He's also hitting the streets this weekend, and could use some help. Lee is a hard-working family man -- he's a railroader and a member of the Air National Guard -- and he's fired up to take on his Republican contender. He's only 32, which makes him another minority as he is several decades younger than the average Wyoming House member. As a Dem and a Gen Y guy, he would automatically add to the diversity of the Legislature.

Tim Chesnut has a battle on his hands, running against Republican John Barrasso for one of Wyoming's U.S. Senate seats. Tim is a former Albany County Commissioner. He has a lot of guts going up against the entrenched Barrasso, who has oodles of money and name recognition on his side. On Sunday, Sept. 23, Tim will host a barbecue and fund-raiser from noon until 3 p.m. at the picnic shelter in Holliday Park in Cheyenne. Get more info by calling Barbara Guilford at 307-634-0309 or Michael Crump at 307-631-9569.

During a long weekend, veteran suicides wipe out an entire platoon

This is not right.

From an AP wire service story:

So far this year the number of suicides in the military has surged beyond expectations, given that the pace of combat deployments has begun to slow. The Defense Department closely tracks suicides throughout the military but releases its figures only once a year. The Associated Press in June obtained an internal Defense Department document that revealed that there had been 154 suicides in the first 155 days of the year, though June 3. That marked the fastest pace of active-duty military suicides in the nation's decade of war.

This is not right.

This past weekend at the Equality State Book Festival in Casper, Wyo., we heard from a panel of veterans who also are writers. Brian Turner served seven years in the U.S. Army, with deployments in Bosnia-Herzegovinia (1999-2000) and Iraq (2003-2004). Luis Carlos Montalvan served 17 years in the U.S. Army, with a deployment in Iraq that earned him a Purple Heart and a lifelong limp and a case of TBI -- Traumatic Brain Injury. Patrick Amelotte was a U.S. Marine Corps Reservist who was deployed during Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1991. They all spoke during a panel entitled "Active Duty, Active Voices."

One of the most haunting quotes came from Brian Turner. He noted that 18 veterans or active duty troops commit suicide daily. That includes veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as all of the other conflicts the U.S. has been engaged in during my lifetime: Korea, Vietnam, Cold War, Vietnam (including Cambodia and Laos), Grenada, Central America, Desert Shield/Desert Storm (Iraq and Kuwait), Bosnia, Somalia, and other hotspots too numerous to mention. It seems odd to include The Good War in these stats but, yes, there are aging WWII vets who sometimes choose the gun or rope over the long march into the darkness caused by cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc.

Eighteen per day. At least one of those suicides is by a member if our active duty forces. You know, some 19-year-old kid who used to live next door to you and joined the Army to pay for college or a trade school or to gain citizenship.

Here's how Brian put it:

"There are 18 suicides today, 18 tomorrow and 18 on Sunday when I fly back out. By the time I get back to Orlando, my platoon is gone."

Every three days, we lose a platoon to suicide.

This is not right.

So what are you going to do about it?

I leave you with a Brian Turner poem on the subject (from Here, Bullet). Brian read this poem at the book festival:

Eulogy

It happens on a Monday, at 11:20 A.M.,
as tower guards eat sandwiches
and seagulls drift by on the Tigris River.
Prisoners tilt their heads to the west
though burlap sacks and duct tape blind them.
The sound reverberates down concertina coils
the way piano wire thrums when given slack.
And it happens like this, on a blue day of sun,
when Private Miller pulls the trigger
to take brass and fire into his mouth:
the sound lifts the birds up off the water,
a mongoose pauses under the orange trees,
and nothing can stop it now, no matter what
blur of motion surrounds him, no matter what voices
crackle over the radio in static confusion,
because if only for this moment the earth is stilled,
and Private Miller has found what low hush there is
down in the eucalyptus shade, there by the river.

PFC B. Miller
(1980-March 22, 2004)

Sam Western will deliver keynote at Wyoming Democrats' annual Roosevelt-Kennedy dinner

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Social security Act on Aug. 14, 1935. Social Security is one of the many government programs that Democrats (Barack Obama and Joe Biden) work to protect and Republicans (Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan) want to eliminate and/or privatize, which is essentially the same thing.

Janel Korhonen-Goff, compliance director of the Wyoming Democratic Party, sends this info:

What: Central Committee Meeting and Roosevelt-Kennedy Dinner (formerly Jefferson-Jackson) with keynote address from noted author and Economist magazine and wyofile correspondent Sam Western, author of Pushed Off the Mountain, Sold Down the River: Wyoming's Search for its Soul. 

When: September 29, 2012

Central Committee Meeting 2-4 pm Cocktail Reception 6 pm Dinner 7 pm

Where: Riverton Holiday Inn Convention Center; 900 E. Sunset Blvd., Riverton, WY 82501, 800-315-2621

Cocktail Reception-$25
Dinner-$75
Combined-$90

Discounted room rates are available both Friday and Saturday nights by calling the 800 number above. Reservations can be made online at: http://www.wyodems.org/event/state-central-committee-meeting-roosevelt-kennedy-dinner

For those who would prefer to pay-at-the-door, we've created a convenient form, which allows us to keep track of reservations (click to go to link): 2012 Roosevelt-Kennedy Dinner

Please feel free to call the office at (307) 514-5282, Robin at (307) 213-9633, or Janel at (307) 277-1228 with any questions, comments or concerns.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Henry Rollins rides the spoken-word choo choo into Cheyenne on Sept. 20

Spoken word artist and musician and Cable TV personality Henry Rollins in Cheyenne?

You've got to be kidding.
NOT!

He will be at the Cheyenne Depot Museum on Thursday, Sept. 20, 7 p.m.

For more info and tix, go to http://www.facebook.com/events/343239682432805/

Countdown to the Equality State Book Festival

The Equality State Book Festival starts this Friday morning with a craft talk by David Romtvedt, poet and musician. David, who was Wyoming Poet Laureate for eight years, will speak about "Invisible Craft, Ordinary Language." I'll be introducing him in my role as Wyoming Arts Council literature guy. I'll also be sticking around to learn some things, as poets have much to teach us prose writers about craft and language.

Rebecca O'Connor

It will be an action-packed two days in Casper. Most of the events will be held in Casper College's shiny new Gateway Building. I urge you to attend for the many reasons spelled out in this line-up of events. Current Poet Laureate Pat Frolander will discuss revising, Rebecca O'Connor conducts a craft talk about "Finding your writing through blogging and journaling, and Renee d'Auost explores writing and dance.

Readings by Romtvedt and Linda Hasselstrom enliven the afternoon. Things get started with a 1 p.m. reading by the Wyoming Arts Council's poetry fellowship winners Matt Daly and Claudia Mauro of Jackson and W. Dale Nelson of Laramie. They'll be joined by soldier-poet and fellowship judge Brian Turner, author of "Here, Bullet" and "Phantom Noise."

The happenings head downtown that evening with a reception at The Corridor Gallery, a reading by Frolander at 7:30 at Metro Coffee Company followed by a poetry slam at 8:30. The slam is always the highlight of the bookfest as you never know who's going to show up. It's been rumored that there will be music as well as poetry.

Saturday is panel discussion day. Two biggies go head-to-head at 10 a.m. "Active Duty, Active Voices" features Iraq War veterans and writers Brian Turner and Luis Carlos Montalván talking about writing and war. The panel will be moderated by Casper College Professor and miltary veteran Patrick Amelotte.If you write children's books (or are thinking about it), you'll want to catch the publishing panel with Cat Urbigkit, Zak Pullen, Karla Oceanak and Kendra Spanjer.

Alyson Hagy

Fiction writer and UW Creative Writing Program Professor Alyson Hagy will be the luncheon speaker -- this is the only event that has a fee.The afternoon features a number of readings. At 3:30 p.m., there is a panel discussion, "Writing Nature, Writing Self," with four writers who know both subjects well: Frolander, Hasselstrom, O’Connor and Urbigkit. The events wrap up with a 5 p.m. book signing.

This is the fourth edition of Wyoming's statewide book festival, held each even year. It's a fantastic event with something for everyone who loves books. 

AIR's goal is to connect the creative community in the Rocky Mountain region

Beet Street, just down the road in Fort Collins, has announced that its new Arts Incubator of the Rockies (AIR) web site is up and running. As part of my job at the Wyoming Arts Council, I was involved in the planning stages for AIR. I invite you to check out the web site -- and to become a part of this innovative effort to "bring the Intermountain West creative community together in an exciting new way." I enrolled in the site at the Wyoming Arts Council when it was in the beta stage. Today I signed up as a writer. Check it out at www.airArtsIncubator.org. 

To get the most out of the AIR web site, become a member today! Free and paid memberships give you access to: 

• The Knowledge Center - home to the newest, best, and coolest resources available to help you in your creative endeavors. You can search by topic, discipline, file type, or just type in keywords. You can also help out the entire AIR community by uploading the articles, videos, podcasts, and blogs that you love too

• The Opportunity Center - where you'll find job listings and internships, calls for artists, details on auditions, funding, and much more. This is also the place to find or post a great opportunity in the Intermountain West. There are powerful search filters for you to locate specific opportunity types, disciplines, state specific information, and application due dates. Paid members get access to more details about each opportunity and reduced rates to feature a listing

• AIR Share - accessible to paid members - allows you to receive feedback on your work in progress, help someone solve a problem, and get to know your AIR community. You can also comment, recommend, bookmark, and upload as many files as you want. This is truly a collaborative tool. Just imagine the possibilities it will open up for you in creating new markets for your work, networking opportunities for collaboration, and so much more  

• The Member Directory - use your membership page as a new marketing tool to tell your story and share your creative prowess. You can find other creatives throughout the Intermountain West, connect with new people and places, be inspired by other's work, and display your own. Paid members can upload unlimited audio, video, and files of work           

The regional calendar - find a workshop, performance, or community event in your town or throughout the Intermountain West region. You can search by event category, date, state, or keyword. Paid members get discounted rates to feature events, but all members can submit events. The regional calendar can be your guide to all things art in the Intermountain West region. You can also market your amazing arts and culture events throughout the region by using the calendar.

On election day, Marguerite Herman will be MyLaramieCountyCommissioner

Linda Stowers of the Laramie County Democrats sends this invitation. The choice is very clear in this county commission race. She is the best person for the job, here in The Equality State.

Dear Friends and Fellow Democrats:

Please join us at a Meet & Greet mixer for Marguerite Herman. She is running for a two-year seat as a Laramie County Commissioner. 

It will be held at 711 Warren Avenue (Old Johnson Jr. High), Cheyenne. Use 7th St. Entrance.

Thursday, September 13, 2012, from 6-7:30 p.m.

Marguerite will serve dinner and talk to constituents. Supporters can learn how they can help her campaign. The event will also inaugurate her website at www.MyLaramieCountyCommissioner.com 

For more information, contact Marguerite at: 307-638-1468 or 307-630-8095. 

Depression Lies!

This is one of the posters designed by Laramie's Felicia Follum to mark World Suicide Prevention Day (today) and Suicide Awareness Week. She had this to say about this this poster: "Depression Lies: This poster is in response to the negatives we believe about ourselves. Sometimes we need tough love and someone to tell us that we are worthy of the best. The TRUTH is you are special; to believe you are anything less than beautiful and wonderful is to believe a lie." To this, I add that depression does lie and that very often, it doesn't respond to tough talk or even kindness alone. Those can help, depending on the person, but don't forget that depression is a physical illness that responds to antidepressant medication, although they take weeks and often months to work. So, my advice to my fellow sufferers of melancholia, is this: TALK, EXERCISE AND TAKE YOUR MEDS!

Jeran Artery posts in Out in Wyoming about his experiences as a DNC delegate

My fellow Wyoming prog-blogger Jeran Artery at Out in Wyoming will be posting this week about his experiences as a delegate at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. His first post was on Sunday. Look for more in the days to come. He promises lots of photos!

"He had arrived at a cliff, with an abyss before him and a fire behind him"

Meredith Melnick writes in Time Magazine Online today about World Suicide Prevention Day, which will take place on Monday, Sept. 10 (tomorrow):

Every day 3,000 people end their own lives, and for every person who dies, there are 20 more people who unsuccessfully attempt a suicide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In the United States alone, that amounts to one death by suicide every 16 minutes, says the National Council for Suicide Prevention (NCSP).

It’s a bit tricky to figure out how to honor World Suicide Prevention Day and so the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) and the WHO have collaborated on a list of activities for organizations to consider as a way to help support the cause. But what about individuals?

The NCSP launched a “Take 5 to Save Lives” campaign that summarizes how we can all help prevent suicide — simple steps like learning the signs of suicidal behavior, raising awareness by telling other people about the World Suicide Prevention Day, and asking for help if you are concerned about your own thoughts and behavior.

Some suggested activities include holding a press conference, writing an article for your local paper, distributing information about depression, posting the WSPD banner on your blog or web site, lobbying politicians about mental health issues and other activities. Seems to me that "spreading the word" is one of the most helpful things anyone can do, since the stigma surrounding depression and suicide seems to be the strongest barrier to prevention.

Cheyenne author Edith Cook wrote movingly in the Sept. 5 Wyoming Tribune-Eagle about her brother's and niece's suicides. The Sunday Denver Post carried a front-page story about the aftermath of the December 2011 suicide of one of the city's foremost philanthropists, Noel Cunningham. He hung himself in his basement. His wife, Tammy, found his body when she arrived home from work that evening:

"It was really difficult, because all I could see for the next couple weeks was Noel, and the way I found him."

Suicide is especially difficult on those loved ones left behind, especially if it arrives as a ghastly surprise, as it did with Mrs. Cunningham. While she tried to get her husband to open up about his inner pain, he never did.

The most moving and poetic quote from the Post article came from an unexpected place -- former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter's eulogy at the 62-year-old Cunningham's memorial service. He said that Cunningham's manic level of service to his community and to international hunger relief had a "dark brother:"

"Call it depression, or despondency, or despair, but it is real, and it has to be dealt with in this eulogy."

--clip--

"Like many of us in this life," Noel had arrived at a cliff, with an abyss before him and a fire behind him, Ritter said.

"He did not see us, he could not see us, on the other side of the fire, pleading with him, telling him we love him, telling him that we will do anything, anything in the world for him, if he would just let us help him put out the fire, and bring him back from the cliff," Ritter said.

The final powerful lesson that Noel gave us all, Ritter said, "is that self-care matters too, even for the selfless."

Not bad for a politician known more for fiscal austerity than metaphor.

How many people in Wyoming are at this cliff today? Too many. Teens and aging white males are especially vulnerable, or so say the statistics. Wyoming's rapidly greying population has many of the latter group, and they tend to kill themselves in dramatically Western ways -- by gun and by rope.

So spread the word: "You don't have to face the abyss and the fire alone. I am your friend. I can help."

Flobots at Gryphon Theatre in Laramie Nov. 2

Get your tix now

Remembering candidate Barack Obama's acceptance speech in Denver four years ago

It was too bad that many thousands of Democratic Party volunteers and supporters didn't get to hear President Obama's acceptance speech Thursday night at the Charlotte Panthers football stadium. Threats of thunderstorms forced the speech indoors. I was able to see and hear candidate Obama's first acceptance speech in 2008 at Denver's Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium on a warm August night. Wyoming Dem delegate Lori Millin took this photo that night. It makes me look like the party standard bearer when in reality I was merely an embedded blogger. Still, it was a heady night for this lifelong Dem who had never been to a convention and may never get there again. Read a nifty article by Patty Calhoun about the lingering effects that the convention had on Denver and its image in last week's Westword. Especially illuminating in the interview with then-Mayor John Hickenlooper and now Colorado Governor Hickenlooper who delivered a memorable speech in Charlotte. He remembers being very nervous about security and traffic and all of the thousand-and-one details that make up a national gathering of this magnitude. He was nervous right up to the closing-night party at his Wynkoop Brewpub in Lodo. Especially illuminating are the details of his decision to let a Rage Against the Machine-led peace march go from the Denver Coliseum to the convention at the Pepsi Center. Instead of having the police stop the march, he ordered the DPD to escort the marchers through town, a decision that probably meant the difference between a peaceful protest to one of mass arrests and violence. That Hick is one smart cookie. He's going places...

"Encore careers" seems to be the new buzzword for Baby Boomers

An AP article by personal finance writer Dave Carpenter was reprinted Friday in the NYT's Business Day section. It was all about us perpetually annoying Baby Boomers and a new trend for us to find "encore careers" that combine "personal meaning with social purpose."

As many as 9 million people ages 44 to 70 already are in such careers as the second or third acts of their working lives, according to nonprofit think tank Encore.org. 

But that number is poised to multiply as many boomers and others take steps to combine making a living with making a difference. Another 31 million older workers are interested in finding encore careers, based on a 2011 survey by the nonprofit. 

A mixture of longer lifespans, layoffs, shifting cultural attitudes and financial realities is causing this growing urge among over-50s to seek out more purposeful work. Sometimes it's just an itch to do something more purposeful in retirements that can now last for three decades, while still pulling in needed income. 

The demographics of 78 million baby boomers should ensure that this careers shift accelerates, says Encore.org vice president Marci Alboher. 

"This trend has the potential to be a new social norm much the way that the dream of the golden years, of a leisure-based retirement, was an aspiration for the generation before," she says. 

Alboher is the author of the soon-to-be-released "The Encore Career Handbook," is an invaluable resource for older workers looking for purposeful career alternatives.

"Purposeful career alternatives." Kind of a clunky term but it's a handy way to describe what many Baby Boomers are trying to do with their retirement (or per-retirement). For awhile now, retirement has become less of a "leisure-based" lifestyle than one that combines do-gooderism with a little bit of freedom to travel, visit grandkids and recuperative time following the usual knee or hip replacement. 

I grew up in Florida, capital of leisure-based retirement. As a beach town, Daytona had more than its share of retirees. You saw them moseying down the beach, playing shuffleboard at City Island Park, and driving 10 m.p.h. down A1A. Half of our beachside neighborhood was made up of snowbirds, Michiganders or New Yorkers or Ohioans who spent most of their year in Daytona but who migrated north to visit family and friends during the hellish Florida summers. Many were widows, still-vital women who had moved to Florida with their retired autoworker husband only to find themselves alone after their spouse expired after a couple years due to golf ennui or shuffleboard overdose. This used to be one of the hazards of retirement, especially for hard-working men. They had nothing to sustain them outside of work. No hobbies. No creative pursuits. Nothing. So they just fade away, like General McArthur's "old soldiers."

We Baby Boomers have different attitudes and, to be fair, worked different sorts of jobs than our parents. I've reinvented myself several times during my life, as has my wife Chris. We're both surprised that I've been at my job more than 21 years and she's been at hers more than 10 years. We even have retirement plans that haven't been gutted by corporate raiders (like Bain Capital) or right-wing, Tea Party legislators.

We also both work in careers that combine "personal meaning with social purpose." Chris is a supervisor at the Cheyenne Family YMCA. Most people know the Y for its exercise classes and swimming pool, but it also offers daycare, summer camps, a myriad of classes and workshops for seniors, and scholarships for people with limited incomes. The VA Hospital uses the swimming pool for patient rehab. The Y "does good" on a daily basis. 

I'm a state employee that works in the arts. My road to this carer took me through jobs as newspaper reporter, newspaper editor, magazine writer, corporate publications editor and community college teacher. My two decades as an arts administrator has been interspersed with intense bouts of fiction writing which, occasionally, lead to publishing, as well as stints on various boards of directors for nonprofit organizations. I've served on the Wyoming Governor's Mental Health Advisory Council. I served on the first Laramie County Habitat for Humanity board and have been a board member for local social service nonprofit UPLIFT for 12 years. I've been an officer for the county Democratic Party. 

Every so often, Chris and my efforts intersect, as when we both served on the YMCA's Writer's Voice committee that brought professional writers and poets to the Y for classes and workshops. 

Our encore carers seem to be happening before our very eyes. We will retire in the near future. We will not go silently into that good night, as if any Baby Boomer could do that. We are loud and we are proud. Especially loud.

So what will these retirees do? I can retire in four years but Chris has a few more years past that -- she's younger than I am. I plan to spend time writing and travelling and volunteering and/or working for my local arts organization, wherever that may be. Chris isn't a writer, but she loves to travel and volunteer, which she may do for our local Y, wherever that may be.

Where will that be? Ironically enough, that may be in Florida. Almost all of my relatives live there -- eight brothers and sisters and their many offspring. Chris's only sister lives there. Chris and I both went to high school in Florida and I graduated from the University of Florida. We have salt water in our veins from the many hundreds of hours spent on the beach. 

Still, we've lived on the Front Range of Colorado and Wyoming for 34 years, with two years off in Washington, D.C., for bad behavior (a temporary work assignment). We have lots of friends in Cheyenne, Fort Collins and Denver. Fort Collins is one of the region's most happening arts towns. Denver is my birthplace and where I spent ten years of working life, where our son was born.

Who knows? I have four years to figure this out. Four whole years! It won't go fast, will it?

Will it?

Unusual magic show about a British lunatic asylum had its roots in Cheyenne

"Battered Bride" by Forrest King

Today's Denver Westword carried a story about an unusual magic show that had its roots in Cheyenne. Denver magician Aiden Sinclair was asked by artist Forrest King to do a magic show in Cheyenne last summer to benefit for the Laramie County Safehouse. You may know Forrest King for his social engaged art. His most famous piece is "Battered Bride" (shown above) that he did in an effort to publicize the plight of the many abuse and battered women amongst us. He's travelled to churches and other venues, artwork in tow, to talk about the issue and to raise funds for Safehouse.

While in Cheyenne, Aiden Sinclair wrote an unusually magic show that revolved around abused women from another time and place. Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum was housed in a gorgeous British mansion. But what happened on the inside was far from gorgeous. Most of its "patients" were women committed bu their well-to-do husbands because it was easier (and cheaper) that getting a divorce. Most women were fairly young when committed, but they usually died there, because the only person who could release them were their husbands, who wielded all the power.

I'll let Westword tell the rest of the story:

At Aiden Sinclair's magic show, you won't see any bunnies pulled out of hats or ladies cut in half. Sinclair describes From a Padded Room: An Evening in Colney Hatch Asylum, which plays at 7 p.m. Saturday, September 8, at the Tattered Cover LoDo event hall in Denver, as an empathic journey back in time to the very real British asylum and the horrible practices that went on in its halls. Beyond the chilling entertainment, $5 from each ticket sold will go to support SafeHouse Denver, which provides emergency shelter, counseling and advocacy for survivors of domestic violence.

We caught up with Sinclair in advance of the show to learn about the history of Colney Hatch and his mission to raise awareness about domestic abuse.

Westword: How did the show come about?

Aiden Sinclair: The show came about by coincidence. A friend of mine in Cheyenne is a gentleman named Forrest King and he's an extremely talented artist. And the cool thing about him is all of his painting is really driven toward social issues that a lot of people don't talk about at all. So he did this painting that's called the "Battered Bride," and the first time I saw this painting it was extremely emotional. It's one of those things that's really hard to look at, but you can't look away at the same time.

So he had approached me about doing some magic at a benefit that he had, and as soon as he asked if I would do a benefit I said absolutely. It kind of struck me that normally when I perform magic for people the object of magic is the suspension of reality -- it's to take people away from the world and bring them into some imaginative creation that's somewhat impossible. Generally as a magician, for eighteen years I've been very happy to take people away from their problems. This, however, seemed like something that you needed to bring people to, not away from. And I thought it was important that if you have a bunch of people getting together to donate money to a cause, they should really be conscious of exactly what it is that they're donating to and that they're helping people.

So we stopped the show and took it off of production and went into pre-production of this show specifically for this cause. Just to raise money for safehouses. So that was the trick. How do you write a show about domestic violence and still have something that's entertaining, that people would want to sit down and watch?

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We basically designed the show around this place [Colney Hatch Asylum] and around the tragic tale of what happened to women in those days, and we take people on a very empathic trip back in time. It's not like any magic show that has ever really been done before. There are no card tricks, there are no bunnies out of hats, there is no traditional magic to it. We basically take those patient registries, hand them out to the audience, and we ask audience members to pick a patient. It's a free choice; these books have 500 different people in them, some of them are good, some of them are bad, and you basically will pick a person and become that person in your mind. You'll actually visualize what it would be like to be that person. And it's an extremely emotional experience for folks. It's really a neat show, mainly because it's not physical. It's very cerebral. It's exciting.

The first time we ever did it we presented at an art gallery in Cheyenne. We did four shows over a two day period and they were the most emotionally draining four days I think of my life. About 70 percent of the audience left in tears or visibly shaken. And not in a way that they were scared or anything, it just really struck them. And I wanted the show to have meaning but I was really unprepared for the response that I got, and that has been the consistent response.

To buy tickets for the Tattered Cover event, go to www.fromapaddedroom.com. For more information about SafeHouse Denver and 24-hour crisis help, call 303-318-9989 or visit www.safehouse-denver.org. For info about Forrest King, go to http://www.facebook.com/AlternativeArt.