"So, a Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Open Mic..." Ed Calkins

"So, a Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Open Mic..." Jerry Callison

"So, a Funny Thing Happened on the way to The Open Mic..." Nancy

"So, a Funny Thing Happened on the way to The Open Mic..." Rebecca Baran

"So, a Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Open Mic..." ME!

"So, a Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Open Mic..." Timothy Baran

"So, a Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Open Mic..." Andy Arnold

"So, a Funny Thing Happened on the way to The Open Mic..." Dee Philiph

"So, a Funny Thing Happened on the way to The Open Mic..." Colleen Robbins

"So, a Funny Thing Happened on the way to The Open Mic..." Tom Hernandez

"A Funny Thing Happened on the way to The Open Mic..." Todd Hogan

"A Funny Thing Happened on the way to The Open Mic..." Jim Pressler

A Bit of a Throwback: Calkins Day 2018: A Few Photos

I'm posting this in anticipation of WriteOn Joliet's open mic event this week in honor of Calkins Day (an explanation is here), 

This means, from 6 to 8:30 p.m., members and guests are invited to share funny, whimsical, non-serious, or playful writings at the Book and Bean Cafe, 3395 Black Road in Joliet.

Two years ago, we held a signing and reception for this book (limited copies still available, get yours on Thursday).

Scroll through and enjoy! Hope to see you Thursday. :)

Calkins Day 2018: A Few Photos

In case you missed it (and even if you didn't), here are a few photos from the Calkins Day Book Signing (Feb. 13) at Book and Bean Cafe in Joliet.

Nos. five (ruthless pose), six (ruthlessly glancing at MOMI's coffee), and seven (composing a ruthless limerick) are especially noteworthy.

Come Out for a Night of Laughter

It seemed simple to me.

WriteOn Joliet, which usually hosts two open mics a year, missed its second one this past fall due to many other events that opened up for this adult critique group.

I was racking my brain for a special way to celebrate Calkins Day, the official holiday of the BryonySeries, a holiday that celebrates humor, imagination and creativity each Feb. 13.

So I pitched the idea of an open mic event with a theme of humor to my WriteOn Joliet co-leader Tom Hernandez with the real Ed Calkins as our special guest.

He loved the idea and voila!

Whether you'd like to share a whimsical work, enjoy the works of others, or meet the ruthless Steward of Tara himself, please join us from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 13 at the Book and Bean Cafe, 3395 Black Road in Joliet, inside the Joliet Public Library.

More details will unfold in the coming days.

Have a great Saturday! :)

An Ed Calkins Spinoff? Apparently, Yes.

A couple weeks ago, a BryonySeries fan suggested I write a prequel to the Ed Calkins Steward of Tara, Irish vampire character.

I felt only Ed himself should write it and told her so. Then I suggested the idea to Ed, who said he'd "think about it."

A few says ago, while checking personal email during my walk home from work, I received this "telegram" from the Steward himself.

Dear Momi,

   

I've started something I could finish but I don't want to go any further if I'm on the wrong track. This is a rough draft. At this point I only what to know if this is the first chapter, would you read the second.

Attached was the first chapter, which I read.

Then I went onto the second telegram:

Another rough draft maybe chapter two. 

My question here is; do you care about Trudy and would you read chapter three?

I read chapter two and then replied, "Definitely!"

Here's what makes this remarkable, even if you're a first-time reader of this blog and have no idea (or even care) who Ed Calkins is.

Ed's been writing stories for over five decades and making up stories about himself for probably just as long. He's dyslexic and scatterbrained (his own admission). His computers have crashed and taken his stories with him.

All of which I incorporated into my books, using Ed's own words.

 “Have you stopped to consider what’s fair to me? Do you know what it’s like to have stories bursting inside of you, only to hand-deliver, since I was a lad, newspapers full of other people’s stories, and not be able to put the right words down on paper? I’m so dyslexic and scatterbrained, even spell-check doesn’t recognize my words.”

            

“I don’t care,” John-Peter began, but Ed continued as if he hadn’t spoken.

             

“So, I wind up changing the word to get past spell check, but when I keep writing that way, I kill the story. I keep trying, because I can’t stop writing, yet, on the other hand, I can’t finish anything. My life is full of half-begun novels. I couldn’t even finish one about Hannibal, my hero, foe of Rome! So, in high school, I switched to poetry, but it never sounded like any of the poetry I ever read.”

When I fictionalized him for the BryonySeries, I gave Ed space on my blog, starting back in 2010 when I started the blog. He's written nonsensical Irish humor based on my books ever since.

This includes my "Irish genealogy." 

BTW, I am not Irish.

Two years ago, I took that collection of genealogical blogs and published a book for a Calkins Day celebration (there's a whole back story to this, too much for this post) at the Book and Bean Cafe in Joliet.

I didn't tell Ed. He was extremely touched. I didn't know his lifelong dream was to see something he'd written published.

I ordered 40 books. We sold all about 11 at that event. I cut him a royalty check and sent him on his way with the rest of the books.

For Calkins Day 2019, we held a limerick slam at the cafe. The following day when I talked to the cafe's owner, she suggested partnering with me to host Calkins Day 2020. 

And she had some very particular ideas about the event.

Ed's work-in-progress, which is very well-written for a first draft, will fit very nicely with her plans.

Which means he needs to get it written, so I can edit it, publish it, and order copies before the end of January.

It is no small thing to help make someone's dream come true. That's the point of this post.

I'm humbled to be part of it. I'm grateful to the BryonySeries fan for suggesting it.

Most people don't have other people investing in their dreams. Their dreams live and die with them.

But how wonderful if we could change that!