Tuesday, August 11, 2009

The Tin Man


"Deputy in Disguise" is available at http://www.rickminerd.com/, or at amazon.com and Barnes & Noble


In 1974 while working for WNCI, the station we called "The Mountain Of Rock" I had selected a song title by the group "America" called "The Tin Man" as sort of a nickname. I haven't used that moniker since then but I liked that name more because of the lines in the song than what those lines were eluding to.

In the "Wizard of Oz" the Tin Man was seeking a heart and as he navigated with his hike-mates to the land of Oz in search of one, he had to overcome various obstacles, some that scared him, others that only challenged him. But he got where he wanted to go and soon learned that Oz didn't need to give him a heart, he had one all along.

But what he did receive from Oz was a symbol of a heart, one that he could wear around his neck or on his sleeve had he wanted to.

That song ranks as a favorite of mine, as matter of fact it's somewhere very high on my list. Not as much because of the message it conveyed, but because it sounds great and at the time, "America" was one of my favorite groups. I just like their sound.

And like the character in the novel, Oz or whoever the great and powerful granter of dreams is, is not likely to ever give me anything I never had all along. What I have is ambition. It is that, that will materialize into the things I want. I have proven this to myself time and again.
If I want it I will figure out how to get it.

My first published book, "Life is a Jukebox" died on the vine. I requested my publisher to take it off the market within days of its release because I saw some things in it that needed revised. I think it is a good book but as the writer of it what else could I say? It was a good idea and one that I thought would be fun to read.
That said, let me introduce you to yet another book...


I have been writing for years, mostly diaries and journals, and when I am not documenting things in my personal vicinity I am penning topics of interest for others. I have written political commentary, campaign literature, newspaper and magazine op-ed pieces, news copy, commercial copy and about a thousand press releases for law enforcement.

The fact that I have recently become an author and have other book projects in the fire isn't anything spectacular nor is it a surprise to many around me. For as hard as I might try to convince others that this is a big deal for me I cannot do it.

I can tell those close to me that I am excited about these adventures but I am met with the same yawns that I was when I told those closest to me that I was going to become a cop. And years before that when I told them I was going to become a radio announcer.

Nothing to to it. Not my own thoughts on those milestones but the thoughts of those closest to me. Sort of like saying.. "Okay, is that all you can do?" The answer to that is of course, "no it isn't."
I will do more in life, and probably write about it later.

But in the meantime, as I continue my efforts to reinvent the Tin Man I will share my publishing experiences in this blog. And I will do it in a way that hopefully will inspire others to follow my lead. To do whatever they think they can do.

I think I can write, although admittedly I am a better writer than I am an editor. Because at the end of the day I will misspell a few words, leave out a few commas and a few hyphens.... but before the end of the next day I will go back and hunt for them and do my very best to make the text as pretty and as easy to read and understand as I possibly can.

And then I will leave it to readers to determine the importance of glamour vs substance.

And by the way, Oz still isn't giving me anything that I didn't already have. I will wear my books around my neck, or on my sleeve and they will be the new badges that identify this 2010 incarnation of the Tin Man.

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