Joel Frey

Fan mail from Michigan

Did you hear that Michael Jackson died? As someone who has spent most of my professional career in public relations, I'm always fascinated by how the media reacts to certain events. From my sofa in El Paso, it seemed to me that in this case they did a fantastic job in sucking every ounce of juice from this storyline in about a four period. By the time Heather and I went to bed on Thursday night, we had seen and listened to enough. I did, however, like the way MTV handled MJ's passing - some commentary from Sway, a few quick interviews with the likes of Snoop Dog and non-stop MJ videos. Watching "Thriller" definitely took me back to my elementary school years in Louisiana. I plugged my sister's blog in my last post, but take a minute and check out her latest on the ordeal and her analysis on how the King of Pop's passing and legacy will compare to the King of Rock 'n' Roll's.

Back in April, I received a letter from Dianne Felsing, who lived next door to my grandparents for a number of years on Hardin St. in Saginaw, MI, right across the street from Michigan Lutheran Seminary. Two years ago when Grandpa Frey died, I wrote (see archives June 2007) that I was sad that he'd never have the chance to read Cypress Walls. Dianne's thoughtful missive helped fill that void.

I truly think Grandma and Grandpa would have been very proud of your book and of how well it was written. Grandpa had such a great sense of humor - I'm sure he would have had more than one laugh...I'm really happy that FedEx and Hardwoods Monthly are behind you, but you must admit there are a world of experience's that you'll always carry with you.

Thank you Dianne for taking the time to write. I hope you're right...

Back in Business

Forgive me ya'll - it's been way too long. I'm a tad embarrassed. I mean, my sister has been more prolific with her musings lately (congrats on the new gig Sis!). Hopefully, this will get me back in the groove.

Over the last four weeks, Mr. Johnson has been busy on my behalf. First, his brother-in-law picked up the damaged goods at the Blu Sky warehouse and returned them to his shop in Memphis. Once the books were back in his able hands, he replaced the covers on them rather than starting from scratch. Thankfully, this remedied the situation. Once he finished up the last part of the order, he carefully packed up all of the books and then to avoid any pitfalls with UPS, he and his wife Pat drove the 500+ copies to Lebanon ten days ago and personally delivered them to Blu Sky. That's how you spell service, my friends. I followed up with Greg at Blu Sky today and, much to my delight, but more so to Mr. Johnson's, he assured me that the books passed inspection and we're ready to move forward.

I owe a hearty thanks to Mr. Johnson and his staff at Post Printing. I don't think any of us imagined that we'd work together on this project for quite this long, but through it all, it's been nothing but a pleasure doing business with ya'll. Best of luck in the days ahead.

I've set up my next reading. It will be Saturday, October 3rd in Lansing, MI at my cousin Chris' wedding reception. He needed a best man. I needed to expand my audience to his lovely fiance's side of the family. It should be an absolute hoot.

Speaking of hoots, Heather and I returned to Sun City on Saturday evening after spending a week in Wisconsin visiting family. Along with nailing down the aforementioned wedding details with Chris, we attended our god-daughter Ava's 5th birthday party, visited the New Glarus Brewing Co., ate Limburger sandwiches (okay, Heather passed on the stinky cheese) and slept in and relaxed. If you haven't taken a week off in a while, we highly recommend it. And to cap it off, Heather treated me to ribs from the Rendezvous in Memphis, special delivered for Father's Day. It smelled like Memphis in the kitchen.

Perseverance

Thirteen days ago, I celebrated my 35th birthday. I know - I'm getting old. But when I look back on #35 years from now, I'll remember it for more than officially reaching middle-age and the awesome Star Wars-themed party Heather threw for me. As I was wrapping up my work day, I received an email from Greg at Blu Sky with a subject of "BSMG Damaged Books Received 5-11-09." It read:

Hope all is well for a Monday. Attached are pictures the receiving dock took of books pulled out of random boxes of the shipment that came in from your printer. As you can see, the spines and covers are beat up, and I’m afraid that most of these would not pass inspection if we were to send them to our customers.

As I digested Greg's words and scanned the ominous photographs, my ears warmed, I broke a sweat and was consumed by negative thoughts and emotions. While trying to gather myself, I did a quick inventory of the boxes that Mr. Johnson sent me a few months ago and realized that the majority of those books more than likely would not pass the muster either. Heather then came home and found me in my office, flustered and somewhat panicked, scary questions racing through my head. Fortunately, she eased my concerns and told me not to let it ruin my birthday. "It'll all work out," she said as we headed to dinner with the family.

Before we left, I forwarded Mr. Johnson Greg's email. We talked the next day and he felt worse about the situation than I did. At that moment, I remembered why I had involved Mr. Johnson in this project: trust. Rather than dodging the issue, Mr. Johnson took responsibility for not packing the boxes as well as he could have. He asked if Greg could give a more thorough accounting of the damage. Could any of the books be salvaged?

A couple of days later, Greg confirmed our fears: none of the 320 books could be sold to Blu Sky's customer list. We had two options: trash the books or send them back to Mr. Johnson to see if any could be saved with new covers. Greg was agreeable to option #2 and Mr. Johnson's brother-in-law picked up the books on Friday and drove them back to Memphis.

In the meantime, Mr. Johnson is putting the finishing touches on the last batch of books that are due to complete my order. He's probably going to drive those to Lebanon personally in assuring that the same mistake doesn't happen twice. That, my friends and followers, is integrity.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend. We're going to check out Star Trek this afternoon and grill burgers later. Below is a pic from my birthday party that I thought you might enjoy. Cheers.

Sunset Grocery

 

Last December as Heather, Megan and I waited on our Christmas flight to Chicago, I picked up a copy of the El Paso Times and noticed an article about a local book club written by Ramon Renteria, the same reporter who wrote a story about Cypress Walls that ran on April 29, 2008. Intrigued, I tucked away the newspaper in my carry-on and after the holidays, I emailed the club's organizer, Magdalene Iglar, about the possibility of the group reading Cypress Walls. Within a few days, Magdalene and I had a healthy email conversation going and she assured me that she'd run the idea by her peers. 

Fast forward to today and I had the sincere pleasure of donning my seersucker suit and attending the group's monthly gathering at the Sunset Grocery downtown. I read from Cypress Walls, gave a few updates on it's characters, and talked about how it transformed from concept to reality as well as the profound impact the entire experience has had on my life. Near the end of the discussion, Heather walked through the door to a round of applause. Only minutes prior to her entrance, I had explained how I ended up in El Paso. It's always a joy for me to share with readers how I reconnected with Heather because of her inclusion in Cypress Walls. It was, however, extra special today to recount our splash in the fountain those many years ago and then for members of the club to meet and spend time with her.

Thanks so much to all of the club's members for making us feel so welcome this morning. Of course, I owe a special debt of gratitude to Magdalene for getting the logistics worked out and helping everyone get their hands on a copy of Cypress Walls. If you live in the El Paso area and are interested in joining a lively book club, drop me a line! 

Class of '09: Eat SPAM, jumpstart your career

On Monday, I had the honor of giving a speech at the annual awards ceremony for the College of Mass Communication at my alma mater, Middle Tennessee State University. In my remarks, I encouraged the apprehensive graduates in the room to be humble, avoid a wait-and-see attitude and to not be afraid to move far, far away in pursuit of their dreams. Toward the end, I mentioned a recent graduate I know who prescribed to all three of these notions, TJ Werre, and that it was paying dividends for him.

I've written about TJ several times. In his senior year at the University of Memphis, he covered the men's basketball team for the student paper, passionately following the team all the way to that unforgettable night in San Antonio when they lost the NCAA Championship game in a most gut-wrenching fashion. After graduation, he networked in Memphis for a few months before landing a job with the ABC affiliate in tiny Austin, MN, home of the SPAM Corporation.

During our trip last weekend, I was checking Facebook and saw a post from TJ, telling his friends that he'd be anchoring for the first time on Saturday. As we prepared to taxi the runway, I excitedly shared the news with Heather and felt a gush of pride. I hope anyone taking the walk across the stage in the next couple of weeks finds a bit of inspiration from TJ and realizes that, despite the cold, hard fact that employers are hiring fewer graduates this year, there are opportunities available - for those willing to get off their butts and go after them. You can check out a couple of TJ clips here and here. Congrats again, my friend!

Heather and I had hectic, but fun day in the 'Boro. Besides the ceremony, I gave a talk to a group of PR and journalism students (despite the 8:00 a.m. start time, I only saw a couple of students nodding off), enjoyed breakfast at the venerable City Cafe on the Square, and had a lunch meeting with Greg Snider, the CEO of Blu Sky Media, the company that I'm working with to distribute Cypress Walls. We had a solid discussion about our next steps together and later that afternoon Greg emailed me a purchase order for 400 copies. Greg is a fellow realist and not one to make empty promises. We left the meeting feeling confident that Greg and Co. are going to work hard in getting Cypress Walls on bookseller's shelves and reassured about our decision to partner with the Blu Sky team.

The pic is outside of Reynolds Hall, the dorm I managed for three semesters while at MTSU. It's also mentioned on the first page of my book. A special word of thanks to Marcie Hinton and her Mass Comm department colleagues for all of the hospitality they extended to us during our visit on campus. It was great to be back. GO BLUE!

Housewives envy

Ever watch the Real Housewives of New York? For those of you unfamiliar with the Bravo Network staple, it is classic brain cell sucking reality television - with a painfully posh twist. Subconsciously, I loathe the show, its premise and have found few, if any, redeeming qualities in the housewives. And while it's almost impossible for me to relate to their personalities, I watch their trite adventures of shopping, parties and socialite gossip in the company of my lovely wife on Tuesday evenings rarely without fail. We're all guilty of tuning into shows of this nature more so than we'd like to admit...right? RIGHT?

Why do I bring up the Housewives? On Tuesday night's show, I watched with a twinge of jealousy as two of the ladies talked up book projects. First was Countess LuAnn who has "written" a book on manners and etiquette. I used quotations in the previous sentence because from my view in our living room it seemed that her idea of writing was sitting down on a cushy sofa with a glass of wine and a ghost writer. Later, we saw LuAnn in a meeting with her publisher and a couple of his cronies as they tasked her with choosing between the cover with purple stripe versus the one with a yellow stripe. She went with purple! Once that dirty job was out of the way, everyone congratulated each other for being so smart and the bubbly started flowing. I could have used a drink myself.

We then were given a front row seat to Bethenny's photo shoot for the cover of her diet/health book followed by her bold assurances that it would be a bestseller. And, natch, it is currently ranked #13 on Amazon! LuAnn, however, has a little catching up to do at #596. Yours truly? #1,396,911! But, my Barnes and Noble rank of #459,746 is slightly more encouraging.

I'm sure I wasn't the only writer with dreams screaming at the TV. Well, I actually didn't raise my voice, but if I weren't such an optimist by nature, I would have gone to bed depressed. Thanks ladies. As always, it was a pleasure, but I'm not watching any of your re-runs over the weekend.

Out of stock

Zack was right. I should have joined Facebook a long time ago. Since I signed up a couple of weeks ago, not only have I reconnected with a bunch of old friends from Bartlett High and J.B. Martin Middle School, Cypress Walls is temporarily out of stock at both Amazon and Barnes and Noble's online store. Plus, I've had more visitors here, including a record day after my last post. Thanks to those of you who bought copies - I do appreciate your support and look forward to your reviews!

One other quick news item: my next book club is set for May 18, here in Sun City. If you'd like to join us, drop me a line. Thanks to Magdalene Iglar for all of her help in getting it set up. I hope there's at least one member of the group who is not afraid to tell me that they thought the book sucked.

Since my last post, Memphis has still been on my mind, thanks to John Calipari. After he decided to leave the U of M to take the head coaching job at Kentucky, I've checked the local paper's Web site a couple of times a day for the latest developments. Like everyone else, I wanted him to stay knowing that without him it would be highly unlikely for the Tigers to continue to play in the upper echelons of Division 1-A hoops. Sadly, that's what's going to happen. It's not the Tiger program; it's Conference USA. Why would anyone coaching in the SEC, Big 12, Big East, Big 10, Pac 10 or ACC want to downgrade and play the likes of Tulsa and SMU year-after-year? Would Calipari had even come in the first place had not the Tigers played in a league with Louisville, Cincinnati and Marquette at the time? I doubt it. I mean, they couldn't even get a whiff from the coach at Baylor, a team that finished ninth (ninth!) in the Big 12 this year.

My heart especially goes out to my friend TJ Werre, who covered the Tigers run to the Final Four last year as a reporter for the Memphis student newspaper. It was a great run Bro. Savor those memories from San Antonio, however painful. Hopefully, the team will get back to the Final Four again one day. I'm thinking 2020 is sounding about right.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Memphis on my mind

On Saturday mornings, Heather and I enjoy tuning into the Food Network to watch Down Home with the Neely's. Years ago, when I still lived in Memphis and worked at the Convention and Visitor's Bureau, I dined at their barbecue joint on Jefferson often. Usually, whenever a group of us from the CVB stopped in for lunch, Pat would take a few minutes to chat with us. Those memories came quickly to mind this morning as my friend and former colleague, Kevin Kane aka "Mr. Memphis," made an appearance on the show and had lunch with Pat and his wife Gina.

On Thursday night, I hurried home from a church meeting to catch the second half of the Memphis-Missouri NCAA tourney game. I checked the score on my phone as I pulled out of the parking lot and, unfortunately, the Tigers were down by fifteen points. By the time I made it home, they were still losing and it was fairly clear that it wasn't going to be their night. But to the team's credit, they hung tough and whittled a 24-point deficit down to six. In the end though, the deficit proved to be too great to overcome. As Heather and I got ready for bed, I thought about my friends back home who were feeling blue as well as watching Tiger games with my dad when the Mundt brothers ran the floor with Tiger guard Elliot Perry.

The Neely's and Tiger basketball are only two of the many reasons why I miss Memphis. But the two biggest are easy: Mom and Dad. It's impossible for me to think about my hometown without them crossing my mind. Today, Dad aka Gar the editor, celebrates 60 years of grace. Happy birthday Pop. Heather, Meg and I will be thinking about you and Mom as we look forward to our next get together in the Bluff City. Let's plan on eating some 'cue at Neely's...

Picture time

Like the new headshot? I needed to get a new one made for an event at MTSU next month so I thought it made sense to place it here too. Thanks to my new friends at Glen Holbrook Photography for their hospitality and professionalism! Heather and I are looking forward to our trip to the Nashville area and hope to reconnect with several old friends while we're in town.

The visit will also allow me the chance to meet Greg and, hopefully, some other members of the Blu Sky team. Since getting the agreement finalized, I've shared some additional info on the book that will aid their sales team in helping introduce Cypress Walls to bookstores and other retailers.

I'll keep it brief today ya'll. I think we're going to try and make shrimp and grits for dinner and I need to take a few minutes to find a recipe. If you have a good one, email it to me!

Peace.

P.S. Anyone else see the Travelocity ad running on the site? I admit, I clicked it...twice.

P.S.S. I'm now on Facebook thanks to some friendly encouragement from Zack. There's a button on the right column if you want to be my friend.

Blu Skies Smilin'

About six months ago I realized that I needed help. The three cartons of books resting on my office floor that greeted me whenever I strolled in were not getting any lighter. Instead, they remained at rest, probably wondering if I was ever going to unpack them. I was also somewhat haunted by the fact that there were several more boxes just like them in a warehouse at Post Printing in Memphis, equally inactive.

I thought about my quandary. It was plainly apparent that I had neither the time nor the connections to place Cypress Walls into retail outlets. Not only that, I didn't have the patience to let the boxes remain motionless. If I wanted Cypress Walls to gain greater notoriety, I knew that I needed those books to get into circulation.

This led to a day last fall when I began researching book distributors. Google directed me to Bookmarket.com and I quickly found several candidates, including one in Murfreesboro, TN, home of my alma mater, Middle Tennessee State University. Geography rather than fate intervened. I downloaded a submission form for Blu Sky Media Group and carefully filled it out. A day or two later, I shipped it and a copy of the book via FedEx to their office and wondered how long it would take before I received the rejection letter.

On Nov. 13, an intriguing email from Cissy Tiernan, the company's vice president of business development, landed in my in-box. The subject: "Blu Sky Media Submission - Two Sides." I figured this was "thanks, but no thanks" and opened the email, steeled for such a likelihood.

"Thank you for sending your submission for distribution for Two Sides of a Cypress Wall to Blu Sky Media Group. I will be reviewing your book and information to determine if we can offer our services, and will be back in touch within the next few days."

 

Woo-hoo! Over the next couple of months Cissy and I exchanged a few more notes and one day in January we spoke live. As I mentioned previously, she was gracious with her time and offered me several tips and suggestions. After we hung up, I had a good feeling about Blu Sky Media. On Feb.18, she arranged a call for me with the firm's president, Greg Snider. They were interested in signing me on as a client.

 

I sought input from Heather and my parents. They were all supportive, each willing to do anything to help me in the pursuit of my dream. As we neared a decision, Dad and I were on the phone discussing the pros and cons. He had Blu Sky's homepage up and was scanning the client list. He recognized a name, Cynthia Polansky. Dad had worked with her earlier in his career at FedEx and had heard through the work grapevine that she'd gone into writing. I asked him to send her a note. He did and she quickly replied, singing the praises of Greg and the Blu Sky team.

 

"Joel would be making a good decision to go with them for distribution," she wrote.

 

We were sold and last week I signed and mailed the contract. In the coming days, we'll be getting ramped up and the Blu Sky sales team will begin introducing my book to the industry. There are no guarantees, but I'm thrilled nonetheless by this development and am looking forward to shipping those cartons to Murfreesboro ASAP!