How “Songs of My Families” was Published

Some readers of “Songs of My Families” have been asking about our book publishing experience.  It appears that there are some aspiring writers out there who have read the book and are reading this blog!  They ask, How did we get “Songs…” published?  Where does an author begin?  I will tell the story, and hopefully that will address these questions and more.

The Lantern Books Logo

As many of you know, Brad wrote a book about working with delinquent boys called “Ashes to Gold, the Alchemy of Mentoring the Delinquent Boy” with his friend and mentor Tom Lutz.  After running the manuscript past several copy editors, Brad pitched the book to three different publishers.  Lantern Books was one of those three, and they snapped it right up.

“Ashes to Gold, the Alchemy of Mentoring the Delinquent Boy”

Brad, Tom, and the Lantern Books’ editors began the back and forth of polishing the finished product.  Eventually, the owner of Lantern Books – GeneGollogly – requested a meeting.  He would be passing through the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, and he thought it was important to meet the authors of “Ashes to Gold” face to face.  So the meeting was arranged at the main-terminal coffee shop.

Of course, I work at the airport.  So I joined the meeting after it had already begun.  I was very pleased to meet Gene.  He’s a handsome fellow with a kind demeanor and a lovely British accent.  As fate would have it, Gene is the father of adopted Korean daughters.  The conversation immediately turned to adoption and then to my story.

As Brad tells it, after I arrived, he ceased to exist.  Gene and I had hit it off, and we were talking about a subject dear to our hearts.  Brad finally broke back into the conversation and suggested that Lantern Books consider “Songs of My Families” which was already in manuscript form.  Gene said, “Sure, send it over.”  And the rest is history.

Before all of you aspiring writers groan and roll your eyes, implying that getting “Songs…” published was easy, you should know that Brad queried over 150 agents.  None would take the project.  We also had another publisher make an offer for the publishing rights, but we turned them down.  Our publishing advisor said, “This isn’t the worst contract offer I’ve ever seen, but it’s close.”  We went with Lantern, and we’re glad we did.

While it is true that serendipity was the agent of opportunity regarding the publishing of “Songs of My Families”, hard work and dedication also played a part.  As the old saying goes, the harder you work the luckier you get.

Lantern Books Compilation Including “Songs of My Families” and “Ashes to Gold”

I Love Book Clubs

Brad and I love book clubs!  Our good friend Laurie H. was kind enough to invite us to hers, the St. Louis Park Volumes.

What a spread!  Salads and breads, fruit and steak, wine and beer.  Who needs dinner with such wonderful party food?

The conversation was lively and the company warm and friendly.  A few tears were shed, as well.

The St. Louis Park Volumes Book Club

After the reading, Laurie’s husband John weighed in with his insight, calm wisdom, and lively witticisms.  All in all, it was a fantastic night.

Brad’s Book on Working With Adolescent Delinquent Boys

I’m really proud that Brad’s other book “Ashes to Gold, the Alchemy of Mentoring the Delinquent Boy” is getting attention from some high-quality people and organizations.  Brad wrote the book along with his friend and mentor, psychologist Tom Lutz.  Minnesota Poet Timothy Young and his wife Dalyce Elliot will be hosting Brad and Tom as part of their Como Cottage Salon Series of lectures, poetry, and music.

Here’s what people are saying about “Ashes to Gold”:

“The perfect healing story for one of the most troubling and intransigent social dilemmas of our time, that of juvenile delinquents, or ‘lost boys.’ From Ashes to Gold reminds us that there’s nothing so powerful and transformative as a good story well told.”—Eric Utne, founder, Utne Reader
“Filled with true life anecdotes, mythic images, and hard won experience, From Ashes to Gold is essential reading for anyone in the business of working with youth.”—Martin Shaw, author, A Branch from the Lightning Tree: Ecstatic Myth and the Grace in Wildness
“Brad Fern and Tom Lutz uncover the real human beings who lie hidden behind intimidating disguises of toughness and contempt. Here is the story of why and how ‘agents of the Dark Man’ mentor troubled adolescents. There are young people all over the world crying out for you to read this book and understand its message.”—Bob Roberts, author, My Soul Said to Me: An Unlikely Journey Behind the Walls of Justice

Here is all of the information about the gathering:

Timothy Young and Dalyce Elliott’s

The Como Cottage Salon Series

Authors, therapists and teachers

BRAD FERN & TOM LUTZ

Saturday October 6^th  7:30 pm

Join us as these men discuss their important book

ASHES TO GOLD:

The Alchemy of Mentoring the Delinquent Boy

Adolescence can be a challenging period for youths, especially in today’s world, where the ancient rites of passage that societies once used to turn their boys into men have disappeared. In an in-depth analysis of the Grimm Brothers’ fairytale “The Devil’s Sooty Brother,” therapists and teachers Brad Fern and Tom Lutz provide a practical and mythic outline for the journey from adolescence to maturity for young men.

Brad Fern   is a psychotherapist in private practice in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has   been involved in mythopoetic men’s work since 1986. He is the co-author of Ashes   to Gold: The Alchemy of Mentoring the Delinquent Boy and Songs of My   Families.

Tom Lutz   has worked with adolescents and families for thirty-three years. He has been   the clinical director of several Minnesota sex-offender programs and   correctional institutions. He is in private practice in Hastings, Minnesota.

Our Como Park house sits just north of the Como Lake golf course, east of the State Fair grounds, west of Lexington and south of Larpenteur.

From Minneapolis, take 35W North, to Hwy 36, to Hamline Exit.  Exit and turn south on Hamline until Larpenteur, turn east to Fernwood, go south one block to 1610 Fernwood. 

Due to the intimacy of the reading, this is a perfume-free environment

Seating is limited to 25 

so reserve your seat at tim@twoboots.net
or call 651-488-4896

PLEASE RSVP SOON TO RESERVE A SEAT

THE BOOK WILL BE AVAILABLE TO BUY

Time Spent with Suzie!

Spending time with Suzie is such a joy.  Brad, the kids, and I always look forward to seeing her.  Before she arrived, I went to the Asian market and bought all of the ingredients to make dragon rolls and spicy tuna rolls.  Finding everything took some time, but I returned with several overflowing bags just before she drove up.  She had come early dressed in a pretty green-checkered dress.  Cici and Max ran out to greet her.

Suzie jumped right in, starting the sushi rice while Cici talked her ear off.  My contribution was cleaning the shrimp and inserting toothpicks to keep them from curling when they hit the hot coconut oil.  The kids dipped the shrimps in egg, flour, and panko crumbs and then we carefully dropped them in. The smell was delicious!

Suzie and Kelly Discuss Sushi Strategy

Suzie went from starting the rice cooker to mixing the spicy mayo sauce for the spicy salmon.  Cici was still talking, and Max was telling jokes.  (“The teacher told Timmy that the sky was the limit, and from that day forward his aspiration to become an astronaut was crushed.”)

When the rice was done, we let it cool and poured the rice mix (rice vinegar, sugar and salt) in while folding it – not stirring – all the while being careful not to bruise the rice.  Suzie deftly diced the salmon and then mixed the spicy mayo sauce over the top.  By that time, my mouth was watering.

Cici, Suzi, and Max

I demonstrated how to carefully spread the rice on a nori sheet, and how to place the ingredients in a strip down the middle, horizontally.  I rolled one and sliced it.  Then I asked Max and Cici if they wanted to try. Both declined. They just wanted to eat.  Suzie stepped up to the plate and hit a homerun.   Her first roll looked fantastic!  We all ate until we couldn’t eat any more.

It was so much fun making sushi together.

The University of Minnesota (Korean Style)

The University of Minnesota has a large number of Korean students; Korean nationals, Korean immigrants, and Korean adoptees.  Last Sunday, Brad and I took the kids – Max and Cici – to hang loose with the 52,000 undergraduate and graduate students there.  We wanted our two little budding scholars to get a feel for what it’s like at the fourth largest college in the United States.  Breath the academic air there.  Get into the study groove.  Some of the best Korean food in Minnesota is served at a little restaurant in Stadium village (the University’s version of Uptown).  That Korean restaurant’s name is… get ready… Korea Restaurant.  See: Kimchee jjigae chum choosayo 김치 찌개

The Mississippi River from the University of Minnesota’s Washington Avenue Bridge

We crossed the Washington Avenue Bridge, checked out the mighty Mississippi River, and marveled at the light rail construction.  When the rail line is finished, commuters will be able to travel from Downtown Minneapolis to the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport.  Visitors will be able to shop at the Mall of America and then take the train to Minnesota’s wonderful capital city, St. Paul.

The Fantastic Light Rail Line Connecting Minneapolis and St. Paul. From the Washington Avenue Bridge

University of Minnesota Coffman Union’s Copy of “Songs of My Families”

We stopped into the Coffman Union bookstore and had our picture taken with a copy of “Songs of My Families”.  Max, Cici, and I gave rock climbing a shot at Midwest Mountaineering.  And then we polished it off with a pizza from Punch.  (Korea Restaurant was closed.)

Finally, we stopped into the Stadium Village Starbucks, a haunt for Korean nationals.  It always feels so good to see so many Korean faces at the University of Minnesota; a great place to send your Korean kids to college.  Especially if they have relatives who would be happy to host them!  (Hint: My Korean relatives with college-age kids!)

 

The Wonders of Modern South Korea

The Sungnyemun, the 14th Century Gate to Seoul

South Korea is poised to be a world leader in many respects.  Since that despicable civil war nearly leveled the country over sixty years ago, several generations of hardworking Koreans have invested in their country’s infrastructure.  It’s beginning to pay off.

According to Geoff Duncan of Digital Trends, South Korea has the fastest internet in the world “with both the highest average connection bandwidth to Internet users (17.5 Mbps) as well as the highest average peak bandwidth delivered to users — a whopping 47.9 Mbps. At those speeds, a typical movie can be downloaded in its entirety in high-definition in just over 30 minutes. A typical song download? Less than three and a half seconds.”

It’s common to see Korean children watching internet-delivered HD television in cars, so they don’t have to miss their favorite programs, music videos, or Olympic events (as long as they’re passengers and not drivers).  The United States crosses the finish line at a respectable 5.8 Mbps, or thirteenth.  That same movie Duncan references would take Uncle Sam three times as long to download.

Picture from Halcrow, http://www.halcrow.com/where-we-work/korea/

As my brother drove us from the Incheon airport and headed toward Geumsan, we tore our eyes from the crisp little screen just in time to look out the window at the longest suspension bridge I have ever seen.  The Incheon Bridge – which connects Yeongjong Island and the mainland of Incheon – is the 7^th largest  cable-stayed bridge in the world, according to Wikipedia.

The bridge reduces travel time between Yeongjon Island and Incheon by up to one hour compared to the old bridge, and provides a beautiful view of the island and Korea’s second most populous city.

It’s absolutely beautiful.  The bold and modern design of the bridge is breathtaking in its complexity and elegance.

Sungsoo, Max, Cici, and Yena on the K-Pop Day

Korean culture is also gaining momentum.  Korean movies are the rage throughout many parts of the world.  Asia is experiencing something akin to the British invasion, succumbing to the onslaught of many highly-choreographed boy and girl bands, or “K-Pop” as it has come to be known.

And of course, there is that wild and strange Korean music video, Gangnam Style.  The trance that the Incheon bridge had imposed upon me was broken by that nerdy-looking Korean man dancing and singing, “Hey, sexy lady.”

“Mom, mom!  Look at this guy,” Cici said.  My niece told me that it was one of the most popular music videos in Korea.  I was amused by the silliness of his expressions, the sense of humor he had infused into his dancing, and the wild cast of characters he had dancing with him.  Mostly, he seemed to be poking fun at himself, which I thought was wonderful. 

That evening while watching the American evening news at my sister’s home in Geumsan, they showed a short clip of the video and proclaimed that it had gone viral.  It was being watched all around the world.

Yes, Korea is ready to lead in many ways, some of them quite unusual.