Mr. Pinkwater, with all the natural and man made disasters happening all over this planet, how can we keep on smiling?
Better find a way. Incidentally, that question could have been asked during any period in the history of humans on the planet.
OK–I bought the audio version of Chicago Days, Hoboken Nights, even though I had and read and foolishly loaned the hardback. But only 1 of the stories I was looking for was on it. I was hoping for the stories about the trip to Africa with the "Some good joke, boss" guide, the dog and dog-trainer stories that were on the NPR tape, the Eskimo ice cream, and many many more. Not there…..are they anywhere?
Fish Whistle! Get it from Amazon as an ebook.
Our 3 year old daughter, when requesting one of your books:
"I want the Pink Hot Water."
That was my nickname in college.
When will you start writing "Escape to Dwerg Mountain"?
It may have a different title, and I will probably start writing it between 9:00 and 11:00 AM, possibly on a Tuesday or Wednesday.
Mr Pinkwater.
I worked on a production about 2 years ago ( I record sound for a living). It was my favorite gig that year They just finished it and are now releasing in 30 tiny installments (to begin).
It's sort of a scifi story – mixing live action and animation done by cloud kids in Boston. The writing is lovely and the actor is perfect. I haven't seen more than the 3 of 30 episodes yet. I hope it's good, and that you enjoy it.
PS. My son (now 27) and I have enjoyed your work for years. (I particularly your personal stories eg. about how a scientist and artist can learn by making coffee together.)
Thank you for your time. Best wishes.
David
Please remember to come back and alert us when the installment about the giant chicken comes up!
Hello. I just wrote a blog post about your books which my students and I totally LOVE. I thought you might enjoy hearing more praise:
www.pinkwatermelons.blogspot.com
Also, as a fellow dog lover, you might enjoy my dog's blog:
Hey, how come your dogs don't have blogs? Your dogs could be guest bloggers if they want. Please ask them first before responding.
I asked my dogs if they wanted to be guest bloggers. They just looked at me. I'm pretty sure they had no idea what I was talking about. So I scratched behind their ears and told them it was ok, and forget about it. Which they did.
Hi Mr. Pinkwater! You are doing excellent work that I have enjoyed immensely from my childhood until now (a span of more than 30 weird years). Will you ever post an audio version of "Alan Mendelsohn" on your website? (It's one of my favorite books, but I also seem to remember that it's a bit lengthier than most of your other works that you've posted). And as a noted vegeterian, what is your opinion of artichokes? Do you have a favorite method of preparing them?
We never did an audio version of Alan Mendelsohn? This can be rectified.
When I was in 7th grade, a kid invited me to come to his house after school. There he prepared two artichokes in a pressure cooker. I had never seen or heard of artichokes. He also melted some butter and showed me how to dip the leaves and scrape the edible part off with one's teeth. It was an important experience for me. I am not a vegetarian--I am more of a vegetable fan.
I’m probably not the first schmoe to suggest this, but you should consider crowdfunding your next novel. With all the nerdy Internet types like myself who are your fans, you’d clean up–no nasty publisher required.
Quite right, other schmoes have suggested it, and I have said that this right here is about as involved as I want to get with the webfolk. I can't say why exactly, but I'd rather take money from some kind of capitalist entity, or give the stuff away free. Nothing wrong with crowdsourcing, but it doesn't feel like me to me. I've experimented a little with epublishing, and may do more. If you visit this website you will be among the first schmoes to know.
Dear Mr. Pinkwater,
I wrote you earlier this year with some concern about the ending of 'Bushman Lives." Your wise answer made me realize that my real enjoyment of what you write is in the characters. It really hit home when I remembered that my other favorite author is Alice Munro, who abruptly ends many of her short stories. She has told all that she needed about that character, so there the story ends. You, likewise, bring characters to life like nobody else! So, write on! (I was thrilled that they re-released Lizard Music in hardcover.)
Sincerely, Edwin Cohen, a great admirer of your writing style
Often the ending has sneaked up on me and surprised me. I will know I am somewhere near the end, but don't know until it has happened...that it has happened.
Hey Daniel. I had a question I've been wanting to ask since reading Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy from Mars years and years ago. Was the Bermuda Triangle Chili Parlor based on a real place? It always seemed like a restaurant I wanted to discover, that had the best chili and cocoa in the world. If it wasn't based on a real place (or one that is no longer in existence), what place have you found that serves the best chili and/or cocoa? Thanks! — Neil
It was based on a real place in a strange city where I was for only a day--it was a Sunday, and the place, in the business district, was closed. I can remember it clearly to this day. I liked the look of it so much! And I was sure, when they were open, they served the best chili ever. (Anyone who is trying to figure out how fiction is written should print out this paragraph and keep it.)
Daniel Pinkwater you're my favorite author. When do you suppose you're going to write another book? Also, I think Lizard Music is the great American novel. That's all!
Don't exaggerate. Lizard Music is ""a"" great American novel. I mean....Moby Dick, Catch 22, Huckleberry Finn, The Recognitions, The Invisible Man, Slaughterhouse 5, (to mention some not by me). The last novel I wrote was Bushman Lives, you read that one? I'm about ready to write another one, but I am waiting for a publisher to come forward with an offer of money upfront to do so. (Publishers! Contact my agent--we'll give you a good deal.) If that doesn't happen fairly soon, I may do the whole thing online in serial form, possibly as it's being written. Watch this space.
Do your publishers give you specific sales data so you can see
who is buying your books? Also, as a certified surrealist, you must
be able to get a surrealist's form of medical insurance. Do you have
to dream you are at the doctor's to get your annual physical, or how
does this all work?
Usually the publishers send the photos, phone records, and internet history of persons who buy my books directly to appropriate government agencies--there is no reason for me to see this material. As a certified surrealist I was subjected to a 140 point checkup, fitted with new tires, and given a one-year warranty which has since expired.
A very good friend of mine just published his first novel. I thought you might enjoy it. It is the story of a young man who lives in a land where everyone speaks in lies and stories and of their conquest by truth-loving missionaries. He is hawking it on the website: majra.org/
I looked at the trailer.
I am quite pissed off that Escape to Dwerg Mountain did not get published. Why didn't it get published?
How do you think I feel about it? Well, of course it never got written--that might have been part of it. But mostly it is because the publishers were bad to me. They are evil, those publishers. Some people think the Devil or the British Royal Family is behind all the bad things that happen, but it is publishers. Not me. Them.
I LOVED these books as a kid!! Other books by other authors, I mean.
Tolstoy, great intro for a five-year-old. But I digress.
My son came home with a picture book written by you and
illustrated by Jack E. Davis. The Picture of Morty and Ray–
fun, fun, laugh-out-loud take on The Oval Portrait by Poe, with a
Jean-Luc Godard twist, fully fed through the Pinkwater mind.
And my kid laughed out loud also. BUT WHY is there this pizza
motif throughout the illustrations….I would love to know what
Davis is trying to tell us. I mean, the handsome guy is modeled after
the Hungarian-American talent Bebop Lugosi. A very talented trump
player he was. But the pizza! It clearly means something.
Wait! Oscar Wilde stole the idea from Poe? I don't know what the pizza-pie meant, maybe Davis was referencing pizza-Poe.
