Tag Archives: blues musician

Media matters

Persistence Pays Off

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My memoir, shown by the camera shot above, has been reborn. Amazon has approved publication!

I first published its book-length version with the title How I Became a Lesbian (and other stories) 15 months ago under the aegis of Amazon Publications. Its hands-on coordinator, James Dean, told me his company was unaffiliated with Amazon Corporation, but I didn’t worry, appreciative of his honesty. After all, how could such a corporate name exist without Amazon Corp.’s tacit approval?

Unfortunately, I was looking through rose-tinted glasses. After being published in May 2024, two supporters alerted me that the entire softcover book was unreadable, due to a faulty print replica process. I immediately pulled the plug on marketing before an unreadable book was foisted on an unsuspecting public. Simultaneously, the Amazon namesake changed its name to E-Book Publications, which causes me to wonder, “How many other misleading company names are being touted these days?”

I did not seek legal redress, realizing it could tie up my manuscript in litigation. Instead, I recorded and published its Audible in Grand Junction, Colorado. I gained a couple spectacular reviews, including one from highly regarded blues performer Bev Conklin from the Lehigh Valley. But Iris, my fictitiously named ex-wife from Miami, questioned the validity of the book’s title as did other readers offering similar perspectives.

Sales of the Audible were miniscule, so I engaged in considerable soul-searching. One afternoon, I found myself repeating under my breath the beginning phrase of the first poem I ever wrote, once performed as Banjoloika: If I Said That I Would Love You. Therefore, I added the explanation A Performance Poet’s Journey and, because of a company I discovered called reedsy.com, hired a professional graphic designer (in Slovenia) to cause my collection of stories to ascend from the dustheap.

Make no mistake, the “Lesbian” title is appropriate for the book’s Epilogue, but its new title allows prospective readers to quickly determine what the book’s contents offer. And after carefully going through a proof of the book earlier today, I approved its publication. Earlier this July 30th morning, Amazon approved the revised tome’s release!

Here’s a preview of what you will discover inside the 332 pages:

Chapter 1 contains my successful audition for the Columbus Boychoir School in Princeton, New Jersey, where I became ensconced in its remarkable university ambience. A successful 1956 performance in Carnegie Hall’s Annex is contrasted with an unwanted encounter with a Boychoir guidance-counselor pedophile. I describe the sordid encounter vividly.

Chapter 2 gives a thumbnail background of my father’s emigration from Hungary until a command performance before an audience of one: Louis Armstrong.

Chapters 3 through 7 take place in Miami, and in North Carolina I seriously discover the life-threatening peril of having a well-tanned skin color.

Chapters 8 and 9 include highlights of my wild life in Southern California, with a provocative firsthand account of what led to Janis Joplin’s murder.

Chapters 10 through 13 contain personal adventures and beginnings as a lifestyle journalist at both of Miami’s premier daily newspapers until the politics in Knight-Ridder’s corporate manipulations drove me away.

Chapters 14 through 17 take place in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and contain several yet-untold stories that Bucks County Herald Editor Bridget Wingert asked me to write about back in the day.

Chapter 18 chronicles my new start in life with Alice McCormick as we journey from Doylestown, Pennsylvania to a perilous life in Portland, Oregon, and later Longview, Washington.

The Epilogue ends with a humorous take on the original book’s title: How I Became a Lesbian.

Alice passed away in 2020, and I created the earlier version in her memory. Officially, I ended my grief on March 27, 2025, and began revising If I Said That I Would Love You: A Performance Poet’s Journey, the book she made me promise to create before her Star Journey began. In fulfilling that solemn pledge, I also follow my literary journey.

Please don’t worry; I’m on the verge of realizing the rewards of persistence. That’s why I offer, “Order your copy from Amazon today. If you enjoyed the way I wrote for the Herald, your patience will be rewarded. This version of the book is finally legible, and there are some great photographs and clippings.“

At a price cheaper than the original one that’s shamelessly illegible, it’s a bargain, baby. Hip-hip-hurray!

Audible review

The Embrace of a Blues Star

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After I wrote about noteworthy musical performances at Bethlehem’s MusicFest over 10 years ago, I explored the Lehigh Valley enough to attend a dynamite performance headlined by top-notch blues star Bev Conklin and her BC Blues Crew. The musicianship I witnessed there set my feet on fire, and I fell into a fitful groove.

On Jan. 20th of this year, the groove I experienced sprouted spectacular dividends.

Ms. Conklin heard about my book, How I Became a Lesbian (and other stories), remembered seeing me at her concert back then and sent me a text message. At the time, I was making final corrections on the Audible here in Grand Junction, Colorado, and she recalled similar relentless butterflies when releasing her first CD recording.

What was my motivation about writing such a memoir/love story? It’s simple. When I wrote for the Bucks County Herald, editor Bridget Wingert forbade me to write about my own boyhood sexual abuse at the American Boychoir School in Princeton, NJ. Bridget claimed that the school was notorious for suing publications revealing its sordid history. However, in 1956 I was the first boy to come forward, afterward taking part in its Alumni Choir where I witnessed its eventual demise 60 years later. Therefore, I felt entitled to reveal what I witnessed. After all, I am a journalist, obligated to reveal the truth.

Bev Conklin and I hit it off spectacularly, and once Amazon released my Audible, she purchased the very first copy. I confess that my extensive recording session with a relentless talented audio engineer allowed me to browbeat her into listening to all 9 hours and 20 minutes within a week, whereupon she rewarded me with Audible’s mandatorily limited 15-word review. The full unabridged review appears below:

“Best to use Audible. Amazon’s printout has technical issues, however, I purchased it for my own library and to go back to re-review. It takes extreme openness and honesty to absorb Mason’s journey, starting with his childhood.

“Damn society and entitlement for many of its dysfunctions that lured many of us into not trusting our instincts during our youth and early to mid-adulthood. That’s what intrigues me about your book… with the many traps you freely walked right into. As a senior reader, we see it coming.

“The cliche of if we knew then what we know now, it’s the journey that reveals who we truly are at the core. Well done and thank you for sharing.”

What more could I ask for, besides being extremely grateful? Until the blurry-printed book is republished, I offer the opportunity to HEAR the unexpurgated Audible of How I Became a Lesbian (and other stories). And guess what? I am its narrator.

How I Became a Lesbian (and other stories), a memoir for the ages

Here’s a few hints to help you through the technical aspects of ordering an Audible. First of all, do you need to subscribe to Audible to purchase a copy? Nope.

What equipment is necessary to download an Audible? Any cellphone, desktop or notebook device.

Once downloaded, how do you listen to it? On a cellphone, Audible appears as a separate application with all sorts of different controls. And if that’s still over your head, call Audible at 888-283-5051, and they will walk you through the process.

Bev Conklin is a Creole artist with a master’s degree from Penn State University, and if you are the slightest bit curious how talented she is, take a listen to her rendition of Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools” on YouTube, and you will hear why my groove won’t go away. Her voice and band are sensational!

Ms. Conklin has discovered that I chose not to be silenced, and I promise there’s plenty of goodies within my memoir/love story to keep listeners (and readers) well entertained. There had to be something to fill 432 pages. And if you are similarly enthralled, leave another review on Audible and tell a friend!