| Joshua Shifrin June 11th, 2011 |
Event Recap 6/11/11 Joshua Shifrin
Greetings ladies, gentlemen, and creatures of all shapes and sizes.
This past Saturday was the most recent in our Face the Fiction series,
with Special Guest Joshua Shifrin at our favorite haunt, Well Read
Books! The evening started early for some, as we began
aggregating in the store around 7p. Chris, Kate, Aurelia, Thom, and
Todd entertained themselves and had a great conversation about
everything from books to movies to Congressman Weiner's cover-up
(or inability to cover crucial bits up as the case may be). Our little
circle of silliness was joined by the estimable Amir, and eventually
Josephine and Liz chimed in as well. Many laughs were had, and
much ado was made.
Joshua arrived about 8pm and we got down to serious business
almost immediately: discussing the pros and cons of He-Man and
Thundar the Barbarian. Yes, I am serious. Kate pointed out that the
dragon from Thundar was really beautifully drawn, and we discussed
the merits of bad cartoons from the 1980's. Some folks even
shouted, "Ride Ookla, ride!" though I will leave it to you to guess who
those disturbed folks might have been
(cough/toddandannmarie/cough). Additionally, some weighty
conversation was directed at the importance of being a wealthy
waterfowl, and why Duck Tales is still fun.
Eventually, we turned the spotlight on Joshua, who, in a fit of
personal bravery, admitted that this was his first Book Discussion
meeting and signing... ever. The SFSNNJ, long known for all its firsts,
helped our guest along,k and made Joshua feel welcome. So
welcome, in point of fact, that we ran past closing time for our friends
at Well Read Books! Oooops! I am sure Bill and Maryanne will
forgive us.
At any rate, Joshua took us on a tour of the background that
informed his novel, Chasing Victory. The story began with his own
frustrations with the learning process and the fact that, while he was
in the advanced English class, he still considered himself a poor
student among better peers. I wonder how many of said peers have
been published, and I would be willing to bet that Joshua is the only
one of his peers to have such a contribution. By any road, we wound
our way through College and Kibbutz-life in Israel, which led to
Joshua's father's writing career.
What has this to do with Chasing Victory, you might very well ask?
Well, Joshua explained that receiving the chapters of his father's
book (Misconception: The Hamlet Experiment) helped him realize
that he would like to write something, but he was unsure what to do
about that urge. It was not until years later, at a Tennis Tournament
in Connecticut, that a friend recommended that he write a book about
Tennis. This invariably led to Joshua's writing 101 Incredible
Moments in Tennis, which rocketed to the top of the Amazon.co.uk
lists very quickly. Success in the UK led Joshua to reach out to some
better publishing houses in Britain, which then led to Joshua moving
from Self Published author to Published Author status, and even
more success with his Tennis book.
Yes, Todd, but what does that have to do with Chasing Victory?
Joshua further expanded that the Tennis book led to some other
writing efforts, including a study guide, and his father's
encouragement, in conjunction with his own modest successes, led to
him writing Chasing Victory. This, then led to a discussion of the
story itself, with Joshua explaining the setup and characters with
animated zest. I won't go into details here, but we learned all the
nuances of the setup and its execution.
Moving on to questions and discussion, many of us asked Joshua
about his process for writing. Early in the talk, Joshua expressed a
love of the process of writing, and Thom was interested if Joshua was
more interested in the process or the product. Joshua explained that
he does love the finished product as much as the process of creating
it, and that it is great to have something to show and share for the
work that goes into it. When asked the standard Music or Silence
question, Joshua indicated a preference for silence, but did not mind
low music with no distracting lyrics. Kate, Aurelia, and several others
noted some comparisons to the classic tale Flowers for Algernon and
the discussion moved into a comparison/contrast of the setup and
execution of the two books. Some further discussion was tendered
on influences, and the impact of reviews.
Truly, I think that we would have continued on for some time longer
had not a certain dashing young line cutter who is so totally not me,
mentioned that it was getting late and we needed to get a move on
so people could buy books and get them signed before the store
closes (technically closing time was about ten minutes before, but
hey, what can you do). Some of us ran up and grabbed copies of the
book, and those with quick reflexes got themselves to the head of
the line by hook or by crook (you snooze, you loose, Hasselkus).
We stood around chatting with Joshua for a while before sending him
home to his wife and sons while we adjourned to the Land & Sea
Diner for comestibles and chatting.
Topics of conversation at the Land and Sea included Bizarre Movie
Silliness, SyFy junk films, fun and excitement with Game of Thrones,
and much more. I would report on what everyone had to eat, but
that would just make me hungry.
Tune in next month when Face the Fiction divides like multiplying
cells, to cover two geographically diverse events:
Join Todd, Paul, and many others at NJSFS's annual Bar-be-Con at
Waywayonda State Park (contact me through the website "Contact
Us" button if you need a ride and I will see what can be arranged).
Should be a fun day of enjoying nature and the company of other
Fans!
Join Josephine, and many others at Well Read Books for a night of
TV and Movie discussions, and some special fun.
Keep in mind: August brings us King of Games Day, and we have a
lot of cool stuff planned this year (then again, when don't we)!
Greetings ladies, gentlemen, and creatures of all shapes and sizes.
This past Saturday was the most recent in our Face the Fiction series,
with Special Guest Joshua Shifrin at our favorite haunt, Well Read
Books! The evening started early for some, as we began
aggregating in the store around 7p. Chris, Kate, Aurelia, Thom, and
Todd entertained themselves and had a great conversation about
everything from books to movies to Congressman Weiner's cover-up
(or inability to cover crucial bits up as the case may be). Our little
circle of silliness was joined by the estimable Amir, and eventually
Josephine and Liz chimed in as well. Many laughs were had, and
much ado was made.
Joshua arrived about 8pm and we got down to serious business
almost immediately: discussing the pros and cons of He-Man and
Thundar the Barbarian. Yes, I am serious. Kate pointed out that the
dragon from Thundar was really beautifully drawn, and we discussed
the merits of bad cartoons from the 1980's. Some folks even
shouted, "Ride Ookla, ride!" though I will leave it to you to guess who
those disturbed folks might have been
(cough/toddandannmarie/cough). Additionally, some weighty
conversation was directed at the importance of being a wealthy
waterfowl, and why Duck Tales is still fun.
Eventually, we turned the spotlight on Joshua, who, in a fit of
personal bravery, admitted that this was his first Book Discussion
meeting and signing... ever. The SFSNNJ, long known for all its firsts,
helped our guest along,k and made Joshua feel welcome. So
welcome, in point of fact, that we ran past closing time for our friends
at Well Read Books! Oooops! I am sure Bill and Maryanne will
forgive us.
At any rate, Joshua took us on a tour of the background that
informed his novel, Chasing Victory. The story began with his own
frustrations with the learning process and the fact that, while he was
in the advanced English class, he still considered himself a poor
student among better peers. I wonder how many of said peers have
been published, and I would be willing to bet that Joshua is the only
one of his peers to have such a contribution. By any road, we wound
our way through College and Kibbutz-life in Israel, which led to
Joshua's father's writing career.
What has this to do with Chasing Victory, you might very well ask?
Well, Joshua explained that receiving the chapters of his father's
book (Misconception: The Hamlet Experiment) helped him realize
that he would like to write something, but he was unsure what to do
about that urge. It was not until years later, at a Tennis Tournament
in Connecticut, that a friend recommended that he write a book about
Tennis. This invariably led to Joshua's writing 101 Incredible
Moments in Tennis, which rocketed to the top of the Amazon.co.uk
lists very quickly. Success in the UK led Joshua to reach out to some
better publishing houses in Britain, which then led to Joshua moving
from Self Published author to Published Author status, and even
more success with his Tennis book.
Yes, Todd, but what does that have to do with Chasing Victory?
Joshua further expanded that the Tennis book led to some other
writing efforts, including a study guide, and his father's
encouragement, in conjunction with his own modest successes, led to
him writing Chasing Victory. This, then led to a discussion of the
story itself, with Joshua explaining the setup and characters with
animated zest. I won't go into details here, but we learned all the
nuances of the setup and its execution.
Moving on to questions and discussion, many of us asked Joshua
about his process for writing. Early in the talk, Joshua expressed a
love of the process of writing, and Thom was interested if Joshua was
more interested in the process or the product. Joshua explained that
he does love the finished product as much as the process of creating
it, and that it is great to have something to show and share for the
work that goes into it. When asked the standard Music or Silence
question, Joshua indicated a preference for silence, but did not mind
low music with no distracting lyrics. Kate, Aurelia, and several others
noted some comparisons to the classic tale Flowers for Algernon and
the discussion moved into a comparison/contrast of the setup and
execution of the two books. Some further discussion was tendered
on influences, and the impact of reviews.
Truly, I think that we would have continued on for some time longer
had not a certain dashing young line cutter who is so totally not me,
mentioned that it was getting late and we needed to get a move on
so people could buy books and get them signed before the store
closes (technically closing time was about ten minutes before, but
hey, what can you do). Some of us ran up and grabbed copies of the
book, and those with quick reflexes got themselves to the head of
the line by hook or by crook (you snooze, you loose, Hasselkus).
We stood around chatting with Joshua for a while before sending him
home to his wife and sons while we adjourned to the Land & Sea
Diner for comestibles and chatting.
Topics of conversation at the Land and Sea included Bizarre Movie
Silliness, SyFy junk films, fun and excitement with Game of Thrones,
and much more. I would report on what everyone had to eat, but
that would just make me hungry.
Tune in next month when Face the Fiction divides like multiplying
cells, to cover two geographically diverse events:
Join Todd, Paul, and many others at NJSFS's annual Bar-be-Con at
Waywayonda State Park (contact me through the website "Contact
Us" button if you need a ride and I will see what can be arranged).
Should be a fun day of enjoying nature and the company of other
Fans!
Join Josephine, and many others at Well Read Books for a night of
TV and Movie discussions, and some special fun.
Keep in mind: August brings us King of Games Day, and we have a
lot of cool stuff planned this year (then again, when don't we)!
 |  |  |  |
| Joshua Shifrin 7p to 10p Well Read Bookstore 425 Lafayette Avenue Hawthorne, NJ 07506 This group meets on the second Saturday of each month and spotlights guest speakers from SF and genre related fields of interest. This month we welcome guest Joshua Shifrin (http://www. shifrinbooks.com). Dr. Joshua Shifrin is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist living in Northern New Jersey and the author of the newly released psychological thriller titled, ‘Chasing Victory’. Visit his website: http://www.shifrinbooks.com to read the first three chapters of his book Chasing Victory! Chasing Victory is the story of William Victory, a young man struggling with a severe learning disability who forms a relationship with a brilliant psychiatrist named Julia Perlman. When Dr. Perlman makes a pharmacological breakthrough that can potentially change William’s life, as well of the lives of the countless individuals suffering with learning disabilities around the world, she is initially euphoric. Yet when you combine a desperate patient with a lack of FDA approval, the unthinkable can, and does occur. |