The event continued with more familiarity as guest, Buzz Bissinger, and
interviewer, Neal Rubin, took the stage. Rubin sat on the left in his argyle sweater, faded
jeans and loafers, Buzz on the right in a black t-shirt, black blazer, the skinniest black
jeans I have ever seen on someone who was not a Jonas Brother, and pirate boots. They
couldn’t have looked more different, yet the subsequent conversation proved that looks
can be deceiving.

The audience got a taste of Bissinger’s sense of humor with Rubin’s first
question, an inquiry into Buzz’s heroes. Bissinger named off a few big names, then
casually ended saying, “I would really like to meet Matthew McConaughey, the guy has a
six pack within a six pack.”

Throughout the night, there were little bits of comic relief like this, to which the
audience reacted appropriately, laughing along and bursting into random bits of applause
at times. Neal and Buzz joked about standing ovations and if the audience decided to
throw money onto the stage, it would be just fine with them. The two seemed to hit it off
as far as an interviewer and interviewee can do so.

The event wasn’t all fun and games, however. Buzz was edgy and passionate,
about truth especially.

“Everyone wants to spin, no one wants to admit failing,” he said.

Bissinger put an emphasis on the fact that all journalists ever say is “tell the
truth,” but when it comes to themselves, people tend to don the rose colored glasses or
turn the other cheek momentarily.

“We don’t take enough f***ing chances,” Bissinger said. “If a book doesn’t get
bad reviews, it’s not a good book”

Bissenger’s latest book, Father’s Day, is definitely one that takes chances. It is
about a cross-country trip Buzz took with his son, Zach. Zach is a savant, unable to
express abstract thought, but if given a date, he can name the day of the week it was on.
“His memory is not his past, it’s his present,” Buzz said. Zach loves to go back
and look at old buildings because he can remember things about them most people would
never notice in the first place. On the trip, Buzz took Zach to look at many old buildings,
and other various adventures, but the journey was not without tension and conflict.
According to Bissinger, the best way to reveal a relationship is through interactions, so
that’s exactly what he did, with brutal honesty, in Father’s Day.

Critics of Father’s Day question the reliability of a trip pre-planned specifically
for the purpose of writing material.

“We’re mining for material,” Bissinger said. “As you get older, it gets harder.” I
found this response especially interesting.

Earlier in the season, author Lee Child sat in the same seat as Bissinger and happened upon a similar subject. He, however, had almost the exact opposite opinion, that it is much harder for young people to write because they don’t yet have the life experiences that good writing requires. I found the contrast between these two opinions to be rather intriguing. I think both men have very valid points, but it really goes to show how one man’s opinion can’t simply taken as gospel.

I found this event to be rather thought provoking. Like most NWS events, I had
no idea what to expect going in, but, as usual, I was not disappointed. Buzz Bissinger is a
very unique man. I loved how incredibly truthful he was, even when saying something he
knew the audience would most likely not agree with. One moment he would be heatedly
discussing the “truth,” and the next he would be talking about his son with such warmth
and compassion, that it was quite touching. He seemed to be very true to not only
himself, but also his son, Zach.

Neal Rubin did a fine job interviewing Bissinger. He stayed within the time limits, and kept the event on track the whole time. I would definitely hear Buzz speak again, and after watching the event, I look forward to reading some of his work.

Chloe is a member of Front Street Writers and a senior at Traverse City West High School. She will be attending Michigan State University in the fall.

Professor Tuesday’s Awesome Adventures in History,
Book Three: The Underground Railroad
by Jeffrey L. Schatzer

I have read many books in my life. They each cling to my brain in a different way. Recently, I have been reading the third book in the series, Professor Tuesday’s Awesome Adventures in History. The third book is called The Underground Railroad. When I started reading the book, I immediately saw a unique plot line and and a very complex way of connecting with the reader. The author, Jeffrey L. Schatzer, uses diverse characters to demonstrate the plot line. He connects his readers to heroic figures in American history such as Frederick Douglass. He is able to use his words to give the reader a look in to a part of Douglass’ life in England. The knowledge of that time in his life is very condensed. Having the availability of this period of Douglass’ life is a riveting experience for the reader. I would encourage a reader who is interested in slavery in the U.S and the Underground Railroad to pick up a copy of this book. I believe it will not only open the eyes of those interested in the subject but also of those who do not yet recognize history’s importance.

The author Jeffrey L. Schatzer has won multiple national and international award for his creativity which is obviously a factor in his successful writing. Schatzer’s book is a one-of-a-kind historical fiction tale tweaked with some remarkable science-fiction. It’s most definitely a page turner.

Read an Author Spotlight feature about Jeff

A northern Michigan resident, Jeff holds a BSBA, MBA and BSC. He started his career as a commercial writer, first writing about mundane subjects like water heaters and nails for a retail lumber and building supply outlet, that eventually evolved into creating speeches and corporate broadcast production. During his spare time he was writing fiction and submitting his literary ideas to publishers. After nearly 30 years of tossing rejection slips, one of his short stories was accepted by Lands’ End and he was on his way.

His first book, The Bird in Santa’s Beard, was originally self-published and later picked up by Mitten Press. The Bump on Santa’s Noggin (2006) followed, with The Elves in Santa’s Workshop four years later. His picture book, The Runaway Garden, (2007) won the State Library of Michigan as the One State: One Children’s Book for 2010.

Jeff began writing historical fiction in 2005 and published his young adult novel, Fires in the Wilderness, in 2009 followed by Professor Tuesday’s Awesome Adventures in History: Book 1, Pontiac’s War (2009), Professor Tuesday’s Awesome Adventures in History: Book 2, Migrating to Michigan (2010) and Professor Tuesday’s Awesome Adventures in History: Book 3, The Underground Railroad (2011).

He has shelved Professor Tuesday for now, and these days he is working on a mystery based in northern Michigan as well as a historical fiction about the 19th century adventures aboard a small cargo ship built in Detroit.

How did you become a writer?
I’ve been a dreamer my entire life, thinking in stories and ideas. Through the school years there were teachers who offered encouragement, who told me I should think about becoming a writer.  The words author and writer have a nebulous and fleeting feeling to them. I’ve found that I’m a storyteller with a love of our nation’s legends and histories.

My start in writing came as a “ham and eggs” commercial writer. My job was to write advertising and promotional copy for the Wickes Corporation, a national chain of retail lumber and building supply outlets. While I wrote boring stuff to make a living, any spare time I had was devoted to creating and submitting story ideas to editors and publishers. My commercial writing evolved over time from descriptive drama about 2 x 4 studs and efficient home water heaters to creating speeches, presentations, and corporate broadcast production. My advance in the literary world was considerably slower. It was only after 28 years of discarding rejection slips, Lands’ End picked up a Christmas story I submitted to them in 1998.

I sold another series of stories to the catalogue retailer a year later. Then my contact at Lands’ End lost his job and I never managed to connect beyond that point. Though it was a short run, I got a fuzzy seeing my name as an author next to Garrison Keillor’s in the catalogue’s index. The idea for my first picture book, The Bird in Santa’s Beard, came to me around 1998. I re-wrote and refined the story over the years as I searched for a publisher. When no one showed interest, my wife Debbie and I gathered creative friends and we self-published the book in 2004. My wife, bless her soul, managed to sell 10,000 copies of that first book out of the back of a red VW Cabriolet convertible in six months.

We were pursued by a couple of publishers and picked up by Mitten Press (now Spry Publishing) in 2005. Since then I’ve published three Santa books and a picture book entitled, The Runaway Garden. The garden book was selected for three national awards (USA Best Book Award, Mom’s Choice Award, and The American Horticultural Society’s Growing Good Kids Award) and it was chosen by the State Library of Michigan as the One State: One Children’s Book for 2010.

I began writing historical fiction for young people around 2005. After five years of listening to the stories of Michigan’s Civilian Conservation Corps Boys, I published my first chapter book for middle grade readers, Fires in the Wilderness. The book is a fictionalized account of the challenges faced by young men during the Great Depression when they worked on environmental projects in the CCC. In addition, I have written three books in a series titled, Professor Tuesday’s Awesome Adventures in History. The first covered Pontiac’s War of 1763 (prior to Michigan achieving statehood), the second was covered migration to Michigan (around statehood), and the third is about the Underground Railroad and how people from the Midwest worked together to help oppressed people find freedom. This particular book recently received a powerful review from the Frederick Douglass Foundation of New York. Plenty of other cool reviews are posted on my website. Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention the kindness, friendship, and loyalty of my friends at Horizon Books in Traverse City . . . God bless you all for holding to the book.

How do you write? What is your process?
I’m not much of a process writer to be honest. The best way to describe what I do is “grind a story.” I toss an idea about in my head. At times it’s almost like a movie I can watch and edit in my dreams. Once I’ve kicked an idea around internally, I take it out into the world. I discuss it with practically anyone else who will listen. After I’ve gotten feedback and milked ideas from others, I get to work. Writing the first draft represents the work phase of writing. Radio personality and overall good guy, Ron Jolly, once told me that one of his favorite authors told him that writing takes a lot of BIC (Butt In Chair).

Rather than daily routines, schedules, and outlines, I am more maniacal about writing. When a story is gnawing at me, I spend long days and nights holed up in my space. When it comes to the actual task of writing, I pretty much follow Stephen King’s approach. After writing with the door closed, I open the door and share my work with my wife and trusted friends. Once I get the input and feedback I want, I close the door and finish the book. This usually goes through multiple iterations, but you get the idea.

When I get a chance to speak with young writers, I love to talk about the fun of re-write. (I can’t tell you the number of people who are shocked to find out that writers don’t just sit down, write a book, and move on to the next project.) There is a tremendous amount of re-writing and perfecting that goes on when you are putting together 30,000 words, 120,000 words, 300,000 words or more. To me, it’s the re-writing process that generates moments of inspiration and creates some of the best ideas. Incidentally, all this adds to the BIC, but it makes the process more fun and the outcome more rewarding.

Who are your favorite authors?
My tastes in reading are eclectic and far ranging, yet my heart favors Midwestern authors/themes. I like the north woods feel of Steve Hamilton’s work. Michigan authors Gloria Whelan and Christopher Paul Curtis are two of my favorite writers for young people. Chris Van Allsburg, author and illustrator of The Polar Express, Jumanji, The Sweetest Fig, etc. is a genius in my view.

My inspiration and fascination is in history. When I’m not researching in libraries, I spend the majority of my reading time with history books printed prior to the 1950s because details about the past are more pronounced and vivid in those books. Because I am working on a project about a small Michigan merchant vessel that was caught up in a war, I’ve been reading a great deal on the history of sailing ships on the Great Lakes. One of the best written and presented books I’ve found was done by Don Bamford, Freshwater Heritage: A History of Sail on the Great Lakes. Military and political histories are also favorites on my shelves. Not surprisingly, that list includes Doug Stanton, David McCollough, and Nathaniel Philbrick.

What authors have inspired you?
Every author who writes a compelling and absorbing story offers inspiration to me. Recently, I came upon a book by Robert Greene, Mastery. In his book, Greene described the universal elements that line the path to mastery of skills like writing, sports, etc. That book offered significant inspiration to me.

Much of my personal inspiration and motivation comes from seeing young readers and writers at the moment of discovery, that moment when they realize the enjoyment of story and how to create it.

What books are on your bedside table?
I just finished Mayflower, by Nathaniel Philbrick. Now I can’t wait to go to the May, 14 NWS event to purchase Bunker Hill. Philbrick has an amazing gift for organizing information and presenting historical accuracy in his work.

When I work on writing projects, most of my reading if focused on the nature of the work. These days I am reading a combination of maritime history and non-fiction crime. Some writers include: Tom Budiansky, George C. Daughman, Ian W. Toll, Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, and Don Bamford. This reading covers a wide waterfront of material, everything from works on body trauma created by gunshot wounds to naval engagements under sail.

What writing projects do you have planned next?
The plural is appropriate. I’ve been working on a murder mystery for about a year. The project has been great fun because it is set locally and features some regional history and facts that will surprise the reader. I’m about 60,000 words into it with an estimated 90,000 or so to go. I know exactly how it’s going to end; all I have to do is write all the words to get there. The pending title is Deadly Blue.

I have also just started a work of historical fiction about a Quaker businessman who built a small cargo ship in Detroit in the early 1800s. The book will be titled Boys’ War because of the critical roles played by boys in shipping and naval military history. In my mind this book is akin to a real life saga of Hunger Games.

His latest book, Professor Tuesday’s Awesome Adventures in History: Book 3, The Underground Railroad (Spry Publishing, 208 pages, $14.95, hardcover), is the story of two middle-grade students who want to learn about the Underground Railroad. With the help of an eccentric professor named “Tuesday,” they discover the past and learn how people of all backgrounds, races, and religions worked together to help escaped slaves find freedom. The students learn lessons from the past as they discover their own courage and strength. It is available at Horizon Books as well as through Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Spry Publishing.

Enjoy reading and writing. These skills are like many others. The more you practice, the better you get. Stephen King noted that in order to be a good writer, you must first be a good reader. I agree totally.

With regard to the task of writing, I encourage young writers to play with details. If you are writing about a terrible monster, I want to know what it smells like, looks like, feels like, sounds like, etc. The only way to do that is through descriptive writing. Give readers a total experience.

As importantly, I like to show young writers a draft of one of my chapter books to demonstrate how many edits and changes are made during the writing process. Writing is a work that is more love than labor. Still I’ve never written anything perfectly the first time. The work comes to life in the re-write. It takes a lot of love to bring a book to life.

Read a Review

A partnership of the National Writers Series and the National Cherry Festival

Tuesday, July 2, 2013 at 7 pm
City Opera House
Ticket information TBA

Friends of NWS will be able to purchase tickets starting on May 15th, in advance of the general public at the City Opera House box office or call 231-941-8082. Tickets for the general public will be on sale starting May 22.

Award-winning author Mitch Albom’s latest book, The First Phone Call from Heaven, will hit bookshelves in November but local fans will get a sneak peak….On July 2, The National Writers Series and The National Cherry Festival will welcome Albom back to Traverse City where he will appear on the stage of the City Opera House.

One of the country’s most popular authors, Albom’s latest novel is an allegory of the power of belief. It tells the story of a small town on Lake Michigan that gets worldwide attention when its citizens start receiving phone calls from the afterlife. Is it a hoax? Who believes and who doesn’t? Albom said in a statement that the new novel “is maybe my favorite story yet, a tale of belief, love and mystery.” It is the first in a three-book deal he has with Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Albom, 55, is an internationally renowned and best-selling author, journalist, screenwriter, playwright, radio and television broadcaster and musician. His books have collectively sold over 33 million copies worldwide; have been published in forty-one territories and in forty-two languages around the world; and have been made into Emmy Award-winning and critically-acclaimed television movies.

Albom began his writing career in his 20s when he volunteered to work at a newspaper. Albom eventually went back to school to earn his Masters degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, followed by an MBA from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. He made his mark in New York as a freelance sports journalist for publications like Sports Illustrated, GEO, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. His first full time newspaper job was as a feature writer and eventual sports columnist for The Fort Lauderdale News and Sun Sentinel in Florida.

Albom became a household name in Michigan from his days as a sports journalist in Detroit. He is known as one of the best-known media figures in that city’s history, working in newspapers, radio and television. He currently hosts a daily talk show on WJR radio (airs Monday through Friday, 5-7 p.m. EST) and appears regularly on ESPN Sports Reporters and SportsCenter.

In 1995 a re-encounter with Morrie Schwartz, a former college professor who was dying of ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, would change the trajectory of Albom’s life.

His regular meetings with Morrie would lead him to write the runaway best-seller, Tuesdays with Morrie, which is the chronicle of Albom’s time spent with his beloved professor. It spent four years on the New York Times best-seller list and is now the most successful memoir ever published. His first novel, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, is the most successful US hardcover first adult novel ever. For One More Day debuted at No.1 on the New York Times best-seller list and spent nine months on the list.

In October 2006, For One More Day was the first book chosen by Starbucks in the newly launched Book Break Program, which also helped fight illiteracy by donating one dollar from every book sold to Jumpstart.

His most recent, Have a Little Faith, was released in September 2009 and selected by Oprah.com as the best nonfiction book of 2009.

Albom is also a humanitarian and has founded seven charities, many in the metropolitan Detroit area. In 2010, Albom was named the recipient of the Red Smith Award for lifetime achievement by the Associated Press Sports Editors. He lives with his wife, Janine, in Detroit.