It Was Nevertheless a Colorful Event

Authors Dan Pirasak, Roberta Edgar (IWOSC Veep), and Gerald Everett Jones at the Independent Writers of Southern California (IWOSC) booth, Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, April 21, 2012. Photo by Marvin Wolf.

Marv Wolf, author of The Tattooed Rabbi and President Emeritus of IWOSC, decided on a retro B&W treatment when he stopped by the booth to take this happy snap. The event was a delight, as ever, and it's truly encouraging that so many Angelenos not only read but also made the effort to make the trip to USC instead of the beach.

During my two shifts in the IWOSC booth on Saturday, I chatted with a lot of folks, including Lance, who goes by only his first name. Lance at first glance looked like a homeless person who had wandered over accidentally from somewhere east of Figueroa. His clothes had a decidedly used look, and he was incredibly soft-spoken. So much so that I had to ask him to repeat several things he said. Come to find out, Lance is not an aspiring author but a fully published one. He gifted me a copy of his book Confessions of a College Football Rules Violator, which he said was about "sex, drugs, and rock n' roll." My kinda guy, and he autographed it. The book is a not-so-whimsical memoir about big-time cheating at a big-money NCAA campus. It's written in confessional, diary style. And it's a revelation. Find the purchase link below, and thanks, Lance, for seeing through my suspicious gaze and reminding me that the democratization of media is fully under way.