Post Meeting Write-up
If you weren't at Face the Fiction you missed a fantastic time. The three guest speakers on the
panel complemented each other so well, we couldn't have asked for a better panel. The
speakers on the panel were Ken Isaacson (Silent Counsel), Jackie Kessler (Hell's Belles and
the soon to be released The Road to Hell) and Brian M. Wiprud (Tailed, Crooked, Sleep with the
Fishes, Stuffed, Pipsqueak). Each brought a different perspective to the panel and each brought
a different style of presentation. All three brought talent, great presentations and personality to
spare.
The meeting started with Steve S making announcements, bringing us up to speed on his recent
Washington trip and then introducing our panel. First up was Brian M. Wiprud, and when the
blurbs on his books describe him as "the funniest tough guy writer there is" they do not
exaggerate - seriously. Mr. Wiprud has quite a flair for comedy, more on that later. Next up,
Jackie Kessler, also very tongue in cheek funny - just ask her about her erotic reading with her
mom in the audience! Closing the deal was Ken Isaacson who opened with the fact that his day
job was being a lawyer and that most people think lawyers right fiction anyway so why not. We
knew from the three humorous openings that we were going to have fun.
Before I go into the specifics of each speaker, I'll give a brief overview of the meeting and then talk
about each individually. All three read from their books, discussed how the writing process
happened for them and gave an in-depth discussion on the publishing process offering a font of
information. They then opened the floor to questions - and questions there were. Plenty of
questions, we didn't take a break until after 9:30. Books were purchased, signed, we chatted with
our guests and then reconvened for the wrap-up.
Now, here are the specifics:
Brian M Wiprud - if Mr. Wiprud ever thinks of changing his career the group unanimously
suggests stand-up comedy. Brian read an excerpt from his most recent book, Tailed, about a
character, Garth Carson, who seems to be a magnet for trouble. The book is part noir, part
comedy, part mystery, but all fun. The character, Garth Carson, appraises taxidermy collections
for one of the largest insurance companies in the country. Nice, safe, respectable job, until some
prominent big-game hunters start dying - apparently slaughtered by their own taxidermy. Garth
somehow becomes the FBI's number one suspect. He goes on the run to find the killer, and that,
believe it or not, is when the real trouble starts - secret government installations, renegade
brotherhoods, nudist mothers that turn into werewolves.. ...you get the picture. After reading the
opening of his book, Mr. Wiprud had us rolling on the floor as he shared that he likes to research
news stories "of a different kind" for possible use in his writing. We thought the news story about
the husband beating his wife with six frozen squirrels couldn't be topped - yes, you read that
correctly, 6 frozen squirrels - until he read the story about the man who wanted his sandwich
warmed and wound up throwing a microwave on his girlfriend instead. I don't know what was
funnier, the stories or Brian's incredulous reaction to the stories. When he said, "now, I wonder,
did he push her on the floor, ask her to heat up the sandwiches and then throw the microwave at
her? I wonder about these things" the crowd lost it.
Jackie Kessler (who gave me an awesome advance copy of her upcoming book!! thank you,
thank you, thank you Jackie) also read from the opening of her book Hell's Belles to set up the
background for the main character succubus-on- the-run-from- Hell Jezebel. Ms. Kessler
explained how she did her research for the book, in which said succubus-on- the-run, becomes a
stripper. Yep, went to strip club. Even cooler, took her husband (who she pointed out so very
generously offered to go). Her description of an erotic reading she had done earlier was very
funny - her mother was in the audience! Jackie described the research that went into Hell and
how once a writer "creates" a world, they need to stick to the rules they've created. In Hell's
Belles, Jezebel has some issues with the changes "management" is making and decides to
leave. Satan, not too happy, sends bounty hunters after her. Mayhem ensues as Jezebel, aka
Jessie, tries to fit into the human world, in the stolen body of a witch, while trying to overcome her
natural instincts as a former succubus. Delightful, fun romp - no pun intended!
Ken Isaacson discussed how, as a lawyer, he has to deal with certain 'givens" and facts that
cannot be changed, but as a writer, he can change those facts (this said with a sly grin). He read
from his book, Silent Counsel. Silent Counsel is about a hit-and-run accident that leaves a young
boy dead and the only person who knows the identity of the driver is the driver's lawyer and he
won't reveal the name. What follows is the mother of the child's ever increasing rage, frustration
and desire to find the driver's name. The passage he chose to read, is describing how the
mother, Stacy, has a recurring nightmare about her son. It was chilling. She winds up getting so
desperate that she kidnaps the lawyer's daughter - it becomes a questing of doing the right thing,
not necessarily the legal thing or outwardly looking correct thing. Who hasn't been in a position
like that? Did you do the right thing, the hypocritical thing, what you thought someone wanted you
to do? To add to the suspense, someone else besides Stacy is looking for the driver.
At 10:45 we reluctantly, very reluctantly, let our speakers go home. Jackie had to go to Albany!
We couldn't offer up enough applause to a delightful panel that thoroughly entertained us all night
long. They were amazing. The three meshed so well you would've thought they did this all the
time together. We continued the night at the diner and the fun continued there. I'm writing this
now because the dirty stay outs wouldn't let me go home (lol) and now I'm wound up (the coffee
had nothing to do it). Hope you dirty stay outs are all happy. I know I am ;) Great meeting, great
time, great people. Join us next month for guest S.J. Rozan.
Additional remarks:
The panelists started showing up by 7:45-Jackie Kessler first, Then Ken Issacson, and lastly
Brian Wiprud. At 8:15 I officially started the meeting by plugging www.cafepress. com/SFSNNJ -
which is the home of ye old SFSNNJ Shoppe & showed off the hat & official shirt of the club
(Master Chris Hasselkus was wearing the official shirt as well & briefly posed) as well as the
mouse pad which features our motto- "Always Free & Always Fun", then proceeded to introduce
our panel. AM then gave our panelists a briefing on the format for the evening and away we went.
Brian Wiprud's bizarre crime cases were a pure riot - apparently squirrels are a delicacy in both
Vietnam (where the man and wife involved were from) & Northeastern Mississippi, where Elvis
Presley was born & raised (and if you don't believe that, read "The Life & Cuisine of Elvis Presley"
by David Adler, which has a recipe for Fried Squirrel [I'm not making this up, folks!]). Even more
bizarre was the last crime story Brian shared about a woman painting a fence in West Virginia
who was sat on by a CAMEL but still managed to pull out her cell phone and call for help. Ken
Isaacson pointed out a similarity between the squirrel story & the famous third season episode of
ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS titled LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER in which a woman murders
her husband accidentally (oh, sure ) with a frozen leg of lamb, which she proceeds to cook &
serve to the policemen investigating the case (unaware that they are eating the murder weapon).
This was a fun evening & we enjoyed ourselves immensely. (Steve S)
I want to add that all the speakers read their passages very well, but I thought that the passage
that Ken Isaacson read was very moving & very sad. Jackie Kessler said that she was affected by
that, having a six-year-old at home herself. I agree with Jo that the interplay between the speakers
was very good. This was a great idea & I'm glad it came off so well!!! (Steve)
And not that this was a 3-person comedy routine; all three authors of varying experience gave
helpful insights into writing and publishing. In fact, Ken Isaacson mentioned that he got published
without having an agent, while Jackie Kessler talked about the advantages of having a publisher
before getting published. They offered very interesting perspectives on both sides of that aspect.
It almost seemed as though all three authors had done this type of panel together before. They
played so well off of each other. Their responses to our questions complemented each other and
as I said they sometimes had different opinions on questions that arose and very happily offered
them. One of the best instances of interplay among the speakers came when Brian M. Wiprud
finished reading his "inspirational" news articles, which included the story about the guy who beat
his wife with 6 frozen squirrels. As Brian suggested, "did he use them like nunchucks or what?"
As he passed the microphone over to Jackie Kessler, she said, "And you want me to follow that?"
(Josephine)
I also would like to take a moment to gush and offer Kudos to the Face The Fiction moderators for
a brilliant and well thought out program. This was a fantastic panel, and all three authors were so
different that they gelled really nicely. There were a lot of laughs, and fun all around (Ken
Isaacson's cheerful smile, Brian Wiprud's incredulous japes, and Jackie Kessler's infectious
laugh will be remembered).
I would also like to point out that in addition to the wonderful event, we met a number of really
great, nice new people at the store. The SFSNNJ is really maturing into a wonderful gathering
inclusive of everyone. Hopefully we will see Mike, Joe, and Ron again (they were incredibly friendly
folks). One of the best things about this group are all the new faces that we see, and all the new
stories we get to hear from the people we meet. (Todd)
If you weren't at Face the Fiction you missed a fantastic time. The three guest speakers on the
panel complemented each other so well, we couldn't have asked for a better panel. The
speakers on the panel were Ken Isaacson (Silent Counsel), Jackie Kessler (Hell's Belles and
the soon to be released The Road to Hell) and Brian M. Wiprud (Tailed, Crooked, Sleep with the
Fishes, Stuffed, Pipsqueak). Each brought a different perspective to the panel and each brought
a different style of presentation. All three brought talent, great presentations and personality to
spare.
The meeting started with Steve S making announcements, bringing us up to speed on his recent
Washington trip and then introducing our panel. First up was Brian M. Wiprud, and when the
blurbs on his books describe him as "the funniest tough guy writer there is" they do not
exaggerate - seriously. Mr. Wiprud has quite a flair for comedy, more on that later. Next up,
Jackie Kessler, also very tongue in cheek funny - just ask her about her erotic reading with her
mom in the audience! Closing the deal was Ken Isaacson who opened with the fact that his day
job was being a lawyer and that most people think lawyers right fiction anyway so why not. We
knew from the three humorous openings that we were going to have fun.
Before I go into the specifics of each speaker, I'll give a brief overview of the meeting and then talk
about each individually. All three read from their books, discussed how the writing process
happened for them and gave an in-depth discussion on the publishing process offering a font of
information. They then opened the floor to questions - and questions there were. Plenty of
questions, we didn't take a break until after 9:30. Books were purchased, signed, we chatted with
our guests and then reconvened for the wrap-up.
Now, here are the specifics:
Brian M Wiprud - if Mr. Wiprud ever thinks of changing his career the group unanimously
suggests stand-up comedy. Brian read an excerpt from his most recent book, Tailed, about a
character, Garth Carson, who seems to be a magnet for trouble. The book is part noir, part
comedy, part mystery, but all fun. The character, Garth Carson, appraises taxidermy collections
for one of the largest insurance companies in the country. Nice, safe, respectable job, until some
prominent big-game hunters start dying - apparently slaughtered by their own taxidermy. Garth
somehow becomes the FBI's number one suspect. He goes on the run to find the killer, and that,
believe it or not, is when the real trouble starts - secret government installations, renegade
brotherhoods, nudist mothers that turn into werewolves.. ...you get the picture. After reading the
opening of his book, Mr. Wiprud had us rolling on the floor as he shared that he likes to research
news stories "of a different kind" for possible use in his writing. We thought the news story about
the husband beating his wife with six frozen squirrels couldn't be topped - yes, you read that
correctly, 6 frozen squirrels - until he read the story about the man who wanted his sandwich
warmed and wound up throwing a microwave on his girlfriend instead. I don't know what was
funnier, the stories or Brian's incredulous reaction to the stories. When he said, "now, I wonder,
did he push her on the floor, ask her to heat up the sandwiches and then throw the microwave at
her? I wonder about these things" the crowd lost it.
Jackie Kessler (who gave me an awesome advance copy of her upcoming book!! thank you,
thank you, thank you Jackie) also read from the opening of her book Hell's Belles to set up the
background for the main character succubus-on- the-run-from- Hell Jezebel. Ms. Kessler
explained how she did her research for the book, in which said succubus-on- the-run, becomes a
stripper. Yep, went to strip club. Even cooler, took her husband (who she pointed out so very
generously offered to go). Her description of an erotic reading she had done earlier was very
funny - her mother was in the audience! Jackie described the research that went into Hell and
how once a writer "creates" a world, they need to stick to the rules they've created. In Hell's
Belles, Jezebel has some issues with the changes "management" is making and decides to
leave. Satan, not too happy, sends bounty hunters after her. Mayhem ensues as Jezebel, aka
Jessie, tries to fit into the human world, in the stolen body of a witch, while trying to overcome her
natural instincts as a former succubus. Delightful, fun romp - no pun intended!
Ken Isaacson discussed how, as a lawyer, he has to deal with certain 'givens" and facts that
cannot be changed, but as a writer, he can change those facts (this said with a sly grin). He read
from his book, Silent Counsel. Silent Counsel is about a hit-and-run accident that leaves a young
boy dead and the only person who knows the identity of the driver is the driver's lawyer and he
won't reveal the name. What follows is the mother of the child's ever increasing rage, frustration
and desire to find the driver's name. The passage he chose to read, is describing how the
mother, Stacy, has a recurring nightmare about her son. It was chilling. She winds up getting so
desperate that she kidnaps the lawyer's daughter - it becomes a questing of doing the right thing,
not necessarily the legal thing or outwardly looking correct thing. Who hasn't been in a position
like that? Did you do the right thing, the hypocritical thing, what you thought someone wanted you
to do? To add to the suspense, someone else besides Stacy is looking for the driver.
At 10:45 we reluctantly, very reluctantly, let our speakers go home. Jackie had to go to Albany!
We couldn't offer up enough applause to a delightful panel that thoroughly entertained us all night
long. They were amazing. The three meshed so well you would've thought they did this all the
time together. We continued the night at the diner and the fun continued there. I'm writing this
now because the dirty stay outs wouldn't let me go home (lol) and now I'm wound up (the coffee
had nothing to do it). Hope you dirty stay outs are all happy. I know I am ;) Great meeting, great
time, great people. Join us next month for guest S.J. Rozan.
Additional remarks:
The panelists started showing up by 7:45-Jackie Kessler first, Then Ken Issacson, and lastly
Brian Wiprud. At 8:15 I officially started the meeting by plugging www.cafepress. com/SFSNNJ -
which is the home of ye old SFSNNJ Shoppe & showed off the hat & official shirt of the club
(Master Chris Hasselkus was wearing the official shirt as well & briefly posed) as well as the
mouse pad which features our motto- "Always Free & Always Fun", then proceeded to introduce
our panel. AM then gave our panelists a briefing on the format for the evening and away we went.
Brian Wiprud's bizarre crime cases were a pure riot - apparently squirrels are a delicacy in both
Vietnam (where the man and wife involved were from) & Northeastern Mississippi, where Elvis
Presley was born & raised (and if you don't believe that, read "The Life & Cuisine of Elvis Presley"
by David Adler, which has a recipe for Fried Squirrel [I'm not making this up, folks!]). Even more
bizarre was the last crime story Brian shared about a woman painting a fence in West Virginia
who was sat on by a CAMEL but still managed to pull out her cell phone and call for help. Ken
Isaacson pointed out a similarity between the squirrel story & the famous third season episode of
ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS titled LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER in which a woman murders
her husband accidentally (oh, sure ) with a frozen leg of lamb, which she proceeds to cook &
serve to the policemen investigating the case (unaware that they are eating the murder weapon).
This was a fun evening & we enjoyed ourselves immensely. (Steve S)
I want to add that all the speakers read their passages very well, but I thought that the passage
that Ken Isaacson read was very moving & very sad. Jackie Kessler said that she was affected by
that, having a six-year-old at home herself. I agree with Jo that the interplay between the speakers
was very good. This was a great idea & I'm glad it came off so well!!! (Steve)
And not that this was a 3-person comedy routine; all three authors of varying experience gave
helpful insights into writing and publishing. In fact, Ken Isaacson mentioned that he got published
without having an agent, while Jackie Kessler talked about the advantages of having a publisher
before getting published. They offered very interesting perspectives on both sides of that aspect.
It almost seemed as though all three authors had done this type of panel together before. They
played so well off of each other. Their responses to our questions complemented each other and
as I said they sometimes had different opinions on questions that arose and very happily offered
them. One of the best instances of interplay among the speakers came when Brian M. Wiprud
finished reading his "inspirational" news articles, which included the story about the guy who beat
his wife with 6 frozen squirrels. As Brian suggested, "did he use them like nunchucks or what?"
As he passed the microphone over to Jackie Kessler, she said, "And you want me to follow that?"
(Josephine)
I also would like to take a moment to gush and offer Kudos to the Face The Fiction moderators for
a brilliant and well thought out program. This was a fantastic panel, and all three authors were so
different that they gelled really nicely. There were a lot of laughs, and fun all around (Ken
Isaacson's cheerful smile, Brian Wiprud's incredulous japes, and Jackie Kessler's infectious
laugh will be remembered).
I would also like to point out that in addition to the wonderful event, we met a number of really
great, nice new people at the store. The SFSNNJ is really maturing into a wonderful gathering
inclusive of everyone. Hopefully we will see Mike, Joe, and Ron again (they were incredibly friendly
folks). One of the best things about this group are all the new faces that we see, and all the new
stories we get to hear from the people we meet. (Todd)
Panel Discussion -- Mystery Writers
This month we are proud to have a unique Paranormal/Mystery Writer Panel. Our guest panel of
paranormal & mystery writers will read from their books, answer questions and more. Join us for
a fun night of paranormal adventure and mystery.
Ken Isaascson is an exciting new voice in crime fiction. Ken Isaacson has been a practicing
attorney for more than twenty-five years. Born and raised in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, he
graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and went on to earn his law degree at
Columbia Law School. He began his legal career at a major Wall Street firm, and continues to
practice law today as in-house general counsel to an international transportation company.
Ken's first novel, Silent Counsel, due to be released in September 2007, has already won
exceptional advance praise. The idea for Silent Counsel came to Ken upon reading a true
account of a hit-and-run incident along a highway in Florida some time ago.
Ken is an actively involved member of the Mystery Writers of America, and served on the Board of
Directors of MWA’s New York chapter from 2002 through 2006. He received that organization’s
Silver Noose Award upon completing his second term. Ken continues to serve on the chapter’s
Mentor Committee, Program Committee, Membership Committee, and Website Committee. He
is also the moderator of the chapter’s online discussion forum. Ken is working on his second
novel.
Jackie Kessler: “Some kids want to grow up to be doctors, or movie stars, or political
assassins. Me, I wanted to draw comic books. Not Archies, either—superhero comic books.
Maybe it was all the heavily muscled guys in spandex…”
Jackie Kessler is the author of the Hell on Earth series – Hell’s Belles and the upcoming Road
to Hell, as well as many short stories: Red was published in REALMS OF FANTASY (April
2007), To the Core was published in the Freya's Bower anthology, DREAMS AND DESIRES
(February 2007) both in hardcover and in softcover. Why Monsters Don’t Do Group Therapy was
published in From the Asylum (December 2006), The Ties That Bind appeared in Farthing
(Spring 2006), Giving the Devil His To-Do’s appeared in From the Asylum (December 2005),
Reflections my first dark erotic story, was published under the byline J.M. Kaye in Ruthie’s Club
(November 2005), “Hunger”—really, not a vampire story—appeared in Byzarium (September
2005), The Compromise, my first non-genre story, was published in Wild Child Publishing
(August 2005), Guilty Pleasures was my first-ever sale…for money! This horror tale appeared in
Peridot Books (Winter 2005). She has also been the fantasy editor for Wild Child Publishing
(where she got to interview Margaret Weis).
In her own words: “In case you’re wondering, I live in Upstate New York, along with my Loving
Husband and two Precious Little Tax Deductions, two cats, and about 9,000 comics. (But
actually, that number is now closer to 8,000, thanks to a flooded basement. Alas!)”
Brian M. Wiprud: Born and matriculated in the Washington DC area, Brian went on to NYU Film
School before finding his a day job and a career in utility infrastructure. Well, that and surfing
Brooklyn is what kept him alive while writing, and the day job eventually led to an expertise in
underground utilities. He's been involved in many subsurface explorations, including a number of
urban archeological digs. Some of his published articles have delved into this topic, most notably
in Mercator's World, the book Concrete Jungle and in the Tribeca Trib. His talents were called
upon after 9/11 as part of the rescue and reconstruction effort at ground zero.
His most recent book, Tailed, has met with rave reviews. Other works include Crooked, both a
2007 Barry Award nominee and a Shamus Award nomine for best paperback original, Sleep with
the Fishes, Stuffed and Pipsqueak.
This month we are proud to have a unique Paranormal/Mystery Writer Panel. Our guest panel of
paranormal & mystery writers will read from their books, answer questions and more. Join us for
a fun night of paranormal adventure and mystery.
Ken Isaascson is an exciting new voice in crime fiction. Ken Isaacson has been a practicing
attorney for more than twenty-five years. Born and raised in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, he
graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and went on to earn his law degree at
Columbia Law School. He began his legal career at a major Wall Street firm, and continues to
practice law today as in-house general counsel to an international transportation company.
Ken's first novel, Silent Counsel, due to be released in September 2007, has already won
exceptional advance praise. The idea for Silent Counsel came to Ken upon reading a true
account of a hit-and-run incident along a highway in Florida some time ago.
Ken is an actively involved member of the Mystery Writers of America, and served on the Board of
Directors of MWA’s New York chapter from 2002 through 2006. He received that organization’s
Silver Noose Award upon completing his second term. Ken continues to serve on the chapter’s
Mentor Committee, Program Committee, Membership Committee, and Website Committee. He
is also the moderator of the chapter’s online discussion forum. Ken is working on his second
novel.
Jackie Kessler: “Some kids want to grow up to be doctors, or movie stars, or political
assassins. Me, I wanted to draw comic books. Not Archies, either—superhero comic books.
Maybe it was all the heavily muscled guys in spandex…”
Jackie Kessler is the author of the Hell on Earth series – Hell’s Belles and the upcoming Road
to Hell, as well as many short stories: Red was published in REALMS OF FANTASY (April
2007), To the Core was published in the Freya's Bower anthology, DREAMS AND DESIRES
(February 2007) both in hardcover and in softcover. Why Monsters Don’t Do Group Therapy was
published in From the Asylum (December 2006), The Ties That Bind appeared in Farthing
(Spring 2006), Giving the Devil His To-Do’s appeared in From the Asylum (December 2005),
Reflections my first dark erotic story, was published under the byline J.M. Kaye in Ruthie’s Club
(November 2005), “Hunger”—really, not a vampire story—appeared in Byzarium (September
2005), The Compromise, my first non-genre story, was published in Wild Child Publishing
(August 2005), Guilty Pleasures was my first-ever sale…for money! This horror tale appeared in
Peridot Books (Winter 2005). She has also been the fantasy editor for Wild Child Publishing
(where she got to interview Margaret Weis).
In her own words: “In case you’re wondering, I live in Upstate New York, along with my Loving
Husband and two Precious Little Tax Deductions, two cats, and about 9,000 comics. (But
actually, that number is now closer to 8,000, thanks to a flooded basement. Alas!)”
Brian M. Wiprud: Born and matriculated in the Washington DC area, Brian went on to NYU Film
School before finding his a day job and a career in utility infrastructure. Well, that and surfing
Brooklyn is what kept him alive while writing, and the day job eventually led to an expertise in
underground utilities. He's been involved in many subsurface explorations, including a number of
urban archeological digs. Some of his published articles have delved into this topic, most notably
in Mercator's World, the book Concrete Jungle and in the Tribeca Trib. His talents were called
upon after 9/11 as part of the rescue and reconstruction effort at ground zero.
His most recent book, Tailed, has met with rave reviews. Other works include Crooked, both a
2007 Barry Award nominee and a Shamus Award nomine for best paperback original, Sleep with
the Fishes, Stuffed and Pipsqueak.
Mystery Writers Panel Discussion -- October 13, 2007
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