Tag Archives: Stories

When I Met Lisa Scottoline

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Lisa Scottoline and me (right) at Barnes & Noble on Rittenhouse Square in April 2012.

Lately, I’ve been attending book signings when I can. Within the past year, I’ve met Suze Orman, Donald Trump, Harlan Coben, and Lisa Scottoline. These events are fun, and I get to meet the minds – and in Trump’s case, the hair – behind the books. As a matter of fact, I plan on heading to New York in September to meet one of my new favorite authors, Lee Child.

Out of all of these encounters, Lisa Scottoline was definitely one of the most memorable. I had never read any of her novels, but I heard they took place in Philadelphia and that she used to be an attorney. Being a fan of mysteries and thrillers, I decided to take a chance and stroll over to the Barnes & Noble on Rittenhouse Square. It was a beautiful April afternoon, and I figured I could do worse things with my lunch break. To my surprise, Lisa was far different than I expected.

She showed up in a dress suit with Crocs on because, according to her, she “just had foot surgery.” Already I knew she wasn’t going to be one to hold back. Lisa went on to talk about her relationship with her mother and how her new book, Come Home, which dealt with parenting issues, specifically when it came to stepchildren from a previous marriage. After speaking for several minutes she said, “OK. I’m going to shut up soon, so you can line up and get your books signed. I know many of you have to get back to work.” Then she pointed at me and said, “But you. I want you at the front of the line. You’re gorgeous!” While I was flattered to receive the compliment, I blushed so much I must have looked like a Red Delicious apple at that moment.

Besides her brutal honesty and friendly demeanor, I quickly learned that Lisa likes to give Tastykakes to her fans. Every time someone asked a good question, she gave the person a Tastykake. Having recently met Harlan Coben, I asked Lisa, “Harlan Coben mentioned that he regularly gets together for dinner with a group of author friends, including Lee Child, Nelson DeMille and Mary Higgins Clark. Do you also regularly socialize with fellow authors?” Lisa responded by saying, “I’m also friends with Harlan Coben, but I haven’t been invited to any of those dinners. Next time you see him, let him know.” For a moment, I was mortified, thinking I’d upset her. But then she laughed and I realized she was just playing around.

After the Q&A, we all lined up to get our books signed and meet Lisa. When I got to the front, I told her this was the first book of hers that I was going to read and that, like her, I was Italian. In typical Lisa fashion, she replied, “You’re Italian? But your nose is so perfect. Me, I’ve got this big thing to work with.” I couldn’t do anything but laugh. It was the last thing I imagined she would say, but with Lisa Scottoline unpredictably is to be expected. I then asked to take a photo with her, and, of course, she said yes. As I turned to leave, she gave me a box filled with three Tastykakes.

After stepping to the side to gather my things, I watched her engage in conversation with fans and noticed how she remembered those that came to previous signings. She greeted them with hugs and kisses and asked about their friends, who she also previously met. What impressed me even more was, as I left, Lisa stopped talking to a fan to say, “Thanks for coming Michael. I appreciate it.” This blew me away. I met the woman for a brief moment and after speaking with several fans, she remembered my name and was gracious enough to thank me for coming out. Many celebrities, like Donald Trump, are as egotistical as you’d imagine. But I can’t say enough positive things about Lisa Scottoline. She was entertaining, warm and appreciative. I look forward to attending her future signings, and her book was entertaining as well.

TV Review: The Pillars of the Earth

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I finally finished the Starz miniseries The Pillars of the Earth. Having read the book, I have mixed feelings about the miniseries. Overall, it was a great piece of television that strayed too far from the source material.

First, I think the casting for the miniseries was great. All of the actors did a terrific job, especially Ian McShane as Waleran Bigod, a delightful villain. The other standout was Matthew Macfadyen as Prior Philip. He fit the character like a glove and was very likable throughout.

With this in mind, there were two major problems with the miniseries:

  1. It tried to condense a book that’s more than 1,000 pages into eight hours of television. Considering the unabridged audiobook is more than 40 hours in length, you can see how this could be a huge problem.
  2. Too many major and minor details were changed from the novel.

Because the miniseries was only eight hours, many of the story’s most important events felt rushed. Similar to the film adaptation of Angels & Demons, each scene moved at a break-neck pace. While this makes for entertaining television, the impact of certain events failed to resonate with me because they didn’t seem nearly as important as in the book. For example, when Aliena searched for Jack in the novel, it took her an extremely long time to find him, which made their reunion emotionally satisfying. In the miniseries, her search seemed to last five minutes and was therefore insignificant.

Another major problem was that the miniseries was vastly different than the book. While the overall story is the same, many things are different. For example, in the book, Tom Builder’s relationship with Ellen was a long, loving and tumultuous one. An entire portion of the novel dealt with how Tom raised Alfred compared to how he raised Jack. This provided a greater understanding of why the two boys didn’t get along. It created a tension that wasn’t felt in the miniseries until later on. Furthermore, it showed how this drew a wedge between Tom and Ellen, something that didn’t seem to happen in the miniseries. I could go on and on about the numerous alterations made to key relationships in the miniseries compared to how they were in the book, but the bottom line is this: Changing these relationships didn’t improve them; it weakened them.

One bright spot was the music. Trevor Morris did a wonderful job with the soundtrack, and the main theme embodied the majesty of the book perfectly.

Overall, this was an entertaining series, on it’s own. However, it was based on a book of legendary stature. Unfortunately, it failed by changing key elements of the book and by trying to condense too much content into too few hours of television. Nevertheless, it was still an enjoyable journey worth taking.

The Pillars of the Earth – Book Review

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Several years ago, my cousin told me I should read The Pillars of the Earth because it was one of the greatest books he ever read. After he explained that it was more than 1,000 pages and that it was about building a cathedral, I wasn’t exactly dying to pick up a copy.

I finally decided to read The Pillars of the Earth this summer, and I’m glad I did. Lately, I’ve fallen in love with audiobooks, and since this book is so long, I figured the audiobook version would be a great way to approach it; I was right. John Lee’s narration was exceptional, and his English accent brought the characters to life in a way that was simply marvelous.

This was my first time reading a book by Ken Follett, but it won’t be my last. I’ve already downloaded the audiobook versions of World Without End, the sequel to The Pillars of the Earth, and Fall of Giants, book one of the Century Trilogy.

Ken Follett is an extremely talented writer whose ability to immerse readers in vivid, expansive landscapes is something to behold. But his greatest strength is creating rich, well-developed characters the reader can’t help but care about.

This book is about more than a cathedral. It’s about dreams, love, parenthood, religion, and war. It’s filled with action and packed with emotion. I would go into greater detail, but I don’t want to spoil anything. If you’re a fan of epic novels featuring captivating characters, then you owe it to yourself to read The Pillars of the Earth. Just like my cousin, I can easily say it’s one of the greatest books I’ve ever read.

Below is the trailer for the Starz miniseries that aired in 2010. I’m currently watching it on DVD and will post a separate review once I’m done.

A Story Is Only As Good As Its Storyteller

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When you think about it, stories are what bring us together. Whether they are sung, written, spoken, or read, their ability to connect with people can’t be denied. It doesn’t matter what language you speak or where you live, stories find their way into the lives of millions of people every day.

Oddly enough, I didn’t grow up loving to read as a child. But I do remember having my Father read me fairy tales before I went to sleep. Listening to stories about Paul Bunyan and The Emperor’s New Cloths always entertained me. While I’m sure the creative writing sparked my imagination, having a loved one read them to me made them more special.

Which brings me to an interesting point. Sometimes the story itself doesn’t matter as much as the person who is doing the storytelling. For example, many of us are quick to defend a lackluster book by an author we adore. But if the book was written by an “unknown” author, we might be more inclined to pan it.

The same holds true for music. There are many great songs, which are essentially stories on a much smaller scale. But without a great singer to convey the emotion and soul of the lyrics, a song can become quickly forgotten.

When it comes to music, Rod Stewart is one of the greatest storytellers to ever live. As a matter of fact, his career retrospective box set, which came out in 1989, was called Storyteller – The Complete Anthology: 1964-1990. This isn’t a coincidence. Rod Stewart is known for writing and interpreting songs like no other. Yes, he’s had some questionable singles and albums, but, at the end of the day, it’s all about his ability to tell a story. His warm, soulful rasp resulted in him being inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: Once as a solo artist and the second time as a member of Faces. Needless to say, this is no small feat.

While stories are extremely influential, so are their storytellers. As I embark on my first book and my first blog, I will keep this in mind. All I can hope for is that my stories bring just as much happiness to others as my favorite storytellers have brought to me.