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Ask the Author: John Blumenthal

“Ask me a question.” John Blumenthal

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Hello, John. We may have one degree of Lee Eisenberg separation? I flourished to splendid creative heights (at least in the catalog/essay world) while we were both at Lands' End. Being on the noirish side, I would probably find "Hardboiled Dicks" hard to put down. Wait, that didn't come out right. Good to meet you, digitally at least.
John Blumenthal Hi Michael--NIce to meet you too. Yes, I knew Lee at Esquire. If I understand you correctly, you and Lee knew each other at Land's End? You mean the clothing company with mostly flannel shirts? What did Lee do there? I'm guessing this was before Esquire. As for Hardboiled Dicks, it was really just a spoof of detective novels.
Reards
John
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Has your dog heard your comment about him / her ?
John Blumenthal Yes, and she hasn’t talked to me in
weeks
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John, my word-play pun partner; It would delight me to buy two copies of the book, especially if you signed one to me. How best could I work to make this happen? THANKS.
John Blumenthal I am flattered, Natalie! (Sorry, no pun there--haven't had coffee yet, not working on all cylindars.) It would delight me as well to sign a copy of the book for you. Probably the best way would be if you sent it to me and I mailed it back. Or...I could get some bookplates, sign one, send it to you and you could stick it in the book. Either way, my address is: 401 California Ave. Unit 8, Santa Monica, CA 90403.

Thanks so much.
Best
John
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Do I have a new novel coming out soon?
John Blumenthal Funny you should ask. My 6th novel, "The Strange Courtship of Abigail Bird" was released by my publisher, Regal House, on Oct 25. Briefly, it's the story of two people--Ishmael Archer and Abigail Bird-- who share an obsession with classic novels and fall in love, literature being the primary aphrodisiac. When Abigail suffers an accident, she is strangely transformed, yet Ishmael decides to continue his courtship of her under what have now become bizarre circumstances. For more, check my Abigail's Goodreads page. (Just type in "Abigail Bird" and you will arrive there.)
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If you will, read my book. which are available on Amazon.,com, let me know . In "Malka's French Soldier", Eugene de Pallant, a colonel in Napoleon's cavalry, asks Malka's father why Malka's family had risked their lives to save a French Catholic. Malka's father responds that the Talmud teaches Jews that "To save one life is to save the world entire." How many people today would risk their lives to save a stranger?
John Blumenthal Hi Herbert—I think you asked and I answered that question before. You might want to check that.
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John, Thanks for the connect. I’m writing my second novel and am in awe of your accomplishments. I’m looking for pre-readers if you’d be interested. The novel is a spin off of my first novel, Misheard Lyrics: What if everything you heard was wrong. It’s about Jeannie, an MIT Ph.D in machine learning and a kickass Tai Chi expert. She finds out she has magical powers and goes on a journey of discovery. Intersted?
John Blumenthal Sounds interesting, Mike but I just don’t have the time. For one thing I am a really slow reader and right now I’m reading to do blurbs and I haven’t made a lot of progress so it’s getting backed up. But thanks for asking and for your kind words about my career. Best of luck!
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MY career has been medicine since my graduation from Harvard Medical School 65 years ago. But I have always had a second passion: to carry on my father's struggle for the survival of the Jewish people. He was an accomplished writer in Vienna. Have you read my books: "Flower of God" and "Malka's French Soldier"? They are the first of my 6 book series titled "The Other Guests: Chronicles of a People."
John Blumenthal Hello Herbert. Thanks for connecting. I have not read your books. A six book series is very ambitious! I could never do that. Best of luck!
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Hello john ,I'm Karen you read as much as i do i do audible.com do you?
John Blumenthal Hi Karen. I can’t do audible. My mind wanders too much.
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Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?
John Blumenthal I have no clue where these ideas come from. If I did, I'd make it happen more often!
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How do you get inspired to write?
John Blumenthal I don't really know. It's a mystery. If an idea pops in my head, I might try to find the voice. If I do find the voice, I might continue. Mostly, I end up tossing it. But do I look for inspiration in music or a beautuful landscape? No.
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What are you currently working on?
John Blumenthal I just finished a novel called "THE STRANGE COURTSHIP OF ABIGAIL BIRD" to be pubished by Regal House in October 2019. Right now I am working on promoting it, a job that is now left principally to the author.
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What’s your advice for aspiring writers?
John Blumenthal Don't take too many writing courses. Read a lot.
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What’s the best thing about being a writer?
John Blumenthal You can do it at home. No commute. Actually, I just love doing it, watching characters come to life, making plots develop and so forth.
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How do you deal with writer’s block?
John Blumenthal Amazingly and thankfully, I have never had writer's block. I think that has to do with my background in newspapers and magazines. There were tight deadlines---writer's block was not a viable excuse.
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