If you are in Rhode Island for any length of time, you are going to come across something from my book, even if it's by accident. But if you buy my book, then you'll know. Maybe you'll have read up about who brews the Yacht Club Soda you bought at the farm. Or maybe when you run into the Coupon Queen over dinner, you'll recognize her.

    But Rhode Island Curiosities also contains things you would never come across on your own. And for some of it, that would be a shame. This book could entertain anyone, but naturally it will be of most interest to two groups of people: Those who live in Rhode Island, and those who might visit Rhode Island. The former group will be glad to see some of their favorite things in here, as well as learn about cool people or events just down the road, which you might catch in the near future.

    As for visitors, Rhode Island offers a unique chance to see a whole bucket of cool stuff in a short time. You could pick any three places (aside from the annual events and world-travelling professionals), and easily catch them all in a day trip. Heck, there are dozens of things to see in a few hours just walking around Providence. My point is, unlike those travel books that list a hundred things to see of which you'll realistically only catch two on any given vacation, you can find everything in Rhode Island.

    Compared to Think You're The Only One?, this book has a bit more of my voice. Rather than sticking to a purely fact-based reporting of my findings, I've tossed in my own opinionated commentary, a few limericks, more than a few puns, and often a whole lot of excitement about the topic. Why? Because Rhode Island is really cool. And once you read my book, chances are, you'll agree.

    In November of 2005, I wrote a novel called Shards, as part of National Novel Writing Month. I've got too many books in the works already to be pitching it to publishers, so I printed it up through LuLu. What's the advantage of this self-publishing? Well, instead of waiting years to find the right publisher and make agreements like my other books, it was instantly available online -- and still is. If you want to read some sample chapters for free, or even purchase it, just follow Mr. Linky Link.

   It was a change for me to write a free-flowing story instead of a labored process of neverending re-editing of minutia. It's my first novel and I'm glad I wrote it. It's heartfelt, and in some sense contains more of me than other books I have written and am writing. My friends who have read it all seemed to enjoy it, but this book contains more of my deranged mind and less research than my other books, so be warned.

     Organizations of procrastinators and pessimists? Competitors in sports ranging from cheese racing to rock paper scissors? Religious devotees who worship everything from slack to Satan? Men proud of their award-winning beards and women against peeing while standing?

    Yep, we've got all of that, ever since 2004.

    Think You're The Only One? is a collection of short profiles on over five dozen of the world's most bizarre groups. Two-page spreads on everyone from the Christian Deer Hunters to the Space Hijackers, with probing questions, inside information, and of course, instructions to join. Although I certainly had my trials and tribulations while writing the book, I must say that it was pretty cool, at least in retrospect. I got to talk with some truly fascinating people, from whom I found out a whole bunch of neat stuff, which is all in a conveniently priced and portable book form.

    This book of verse (not actually called "The Verse is Yet to Come") is a work in progress that has been on my desk for quite a while. I hatched the idea during my senior year of college, and began working on it the fall after my graduation. Various interruptions, from full-time employment, to writing the above books, to home-buying, conspired to keep me from finishing.

    I am closer than I have ever been. I have a complete rough draft, a target market, a few endorsements, and a strong belief that this could easily be the most successful book I have written. I still need to tweak a few things, but I am looking for an agent and/or publisher. Interested parties are encouraged to email me.

Well, my book on Rhode Island is finally out. That makes three books I've written since I started my verse book. It's about time to find a publisher for that, I think.