AUTHOR'S NOTES

YES, IT'S THE SAME DAN WAKEFIELD!

On a book tour last summer a publisher's representative said he'd had a little difficulty getting some bookstore managers to have both my books available that were recently reissued in paperback - Creating from the Spirit, and my first novel, Going All The Way. "That's not the same writer," one bookstore manager said. "There's one Dan Wakefield who writes spiritual books, and another one who writes novels."

The publisher's representative assured him, "It's the same guy !"

I'm here to testify that I'm indeed "the same guy." I've written five novels, none of them focused oft "spiritual" themes, except in the deepest sense that any honest work that attempts to get at the truth of existence is spiritual. I'm proud of my novels, as I am of my non-fiction books of the spiritual realm. My novel Starting Over was made as a movie starring Burt Reynolds and Jill Clayburgh, while Going All The Way became an independent film this past year, with Jill Clayburgh (again !), Lesley Ann Warren, and marvelous newcomers like Ben Affleck and Rose McGowan. It premiered at The Sundance Film Festival and was released nationwide by Gramercy Pictures. I had the pleasure of writing the script of this one as well.

Going All The Way is a coming of age story of two young men in rebellion against home, family, religion, and God, when they come home to Indianapolis in 1954 after serving in The Korean War. The language is frank, explicit, and so is the treatment of sexuality as the young men struggle to find themselves. If you've read and enjoyed contemporary novels like those of John Updike, Joan Didion, and Norman Mailer, you won't be offended by the language or subject matter of the novel, but if you're offended by these contemporary approaches to fiction, I can't recommend this novel, OR the Audio Cassette of it read by the rising young screen star Ben Affleck.

If, however, you don't feel those warnings apply to you, I hope you'll enjoy this novel which was a best-seller when it came out in 1970, a main selection of The Literary Guild, and nominated for The National Book Award. Korean War.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle..."
- Philo of Alexandria

MYTHS OF CREATIVITY
Myth #1, Creativity is only for the artistic elite. This myth tells us that a few special people have been blessed with the mysterious gift of creativity, and everyone else was passed over when God was giving out these valuable prizes ! While every one may not be a master or a Pulitzer Prize winner, everyone does possess creative power, a force that may be articulated in many different ways, from cooking and gardening to painting and writing.
--Creating from the Spirit

- Dan Wakefield

Author's Favorites List

Theologian: Harvey Cox (latest book "Fire From Heaven")

Miami Heat player: Mark Strickland

Wise Men: Kurt Vonnegut, Rabbi Harold Kushner

Car Dealer; Rick LeMaire, Largo Honda, Key Largo, Florida

New book of past year: "Dreamtime Alice" a memoir of a young woman tap dancer in New York and New Orleans, by Mandy Sayer

Entertainer: Dennis Rodman

Funny writers who actually make you laugh: Bruce Jay Friedman, Bill Kotzwinkle

Coffee Houses: The Sacred Grounds, 7th & Collins, Miami Beach, Florida; The Grove, Chestnut Street, The Marina, San Francisco

Independent bookstore: Books & Books, Coral Gables, Florida

Southern novelist: Ellen Gilchrist

Prose writers: Reynolds Price and James Salter

New film maker: Jill Sprecher ("Clockwatchers")

Actress: Lisa Kudrow

Ministers: Carl Scovel, Kings Chapel, Boston; John Bucahnan, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago

TV basketball commentator: Al McQuire

Sports talk radio host: Hank Goldberg, WQAM, Miami, and ESPN

Rabbis: Harold Kushner, Rachel Cowan, Nancy Flam

Health spa: Rancho La Puerta, Tecate, Mexico

Direct correspondence to:
Dan Wakefield
P.O. Box 119O
Burlington, MA

e-mail ~ wakespace@aol.com