Ad Hudler, author of SOUTHERN LIVING and MAN OF THE HOUSE, shares a story of a less-than-ideal living situation, and how a well-timed book on Christmas helped to set things right.
We had just moved from Florida to New York with a newborn in tow, and life was crazy. Because my wife had work and I did not, the responsibility of the move fell on me. And before I could go back to work, I had to find some in-home care, so I placed an ad in the newspaper and found Gloria. I wasn't crazy about her, but she was best of the lot: an expressive, Italian mother, who, I'd discover later, had a son in prison.
Our problem was this: Gloria refused to do as I said because I was a man, and, in her opinion, no man could tell her what to do with a house and baby. We fought and fought and fought. She rebelled by eating all my favorite foods from the refrigerator (we'd later discover she had had her stomach stapled). She refused to use a car seat with our daughter. And her idea of cleaning the house meant puffing up the throw pillows.
"Can't you deal with her?" I asked my wife. "She won't listen to me."
"Honey," my wife replied, "Gloria is your direct report. You're responsible for her."
"But I've never managed people before," I said. "I'm a writer. I don't know what I'm doing here."
Christmas came a month later. In my stocking was a book from my wife: THE ONE MINUTE MANAGER, by Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnsons.
I read THE ONE MINUTE MANAGER in one hour, and, in one week, Gloria was gone.
-- Ad Hudler
Tomorrow, Mary Carter and Robert Goolrick discuss two rather memorable reads, and revel in the power of a well-told story.
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Blog: bookreporter.com (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Blog: Kelley and Hall (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Lori Culwell, News, Brunonia Barry, Lisa Genova, Susan Mallery, Ad Hudler, Michael Palmer, Add a tag
My day job is that I am a book publicist. By saying, “Day Job” that can be kind of misleading because it is actually an all day, all night, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week kind of job. I love what I do because I love working with authors, coming up with original, unique and authentic ways of marketing my favorite of all commodities…BOOKS! However, there are days when I don’t 100% love my job, when the frustrations outweigh the victories. Those are usually the days when nothing seems to be going right. No one is biting. There is bigger news going on in the world and editors and producers don’t seem to care a flying fig about a book…especially if that book happens to be fiction.
Fiction tends to have the wonderful ability to land like a lead balloon on the doorsteps of most editors and producers. They really don’t know what to do with it. And that’s where my incredible originality and overall ingenious ability to turn fiction into the most newsworthy of subjects comes in handy. I am not just trying to flatter myself, I really am that good.
Who else can turn a book about a stay-at-home dad into a political platform? (Ad Hudler’s MAN OF THE HOUSE) or turn the promotion of a romance novel into a gender issue (Susan Mallery’s SUNSET BAY)? I brought a medical thriller writer into the Hollywood spotlight (Michael Palmer’s THE SECOND OPINION) and turned a columnist into a public promoter (Lisa Genova’s STILL ALICE).
This is why I love my job. I love finding the clever hook that is going to turn a book into a hot topic. I love making people become aware of an author or novel they may have overlooked. I love creating that one spark that can launch a career. (Lori Culwell and Brunonia Barry)
Blog: bookreporter.com (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Today, Ad Hudler --- author of MAN OF THE HOUSE --- recalls his attempt to teach his neighbors a lesson in environmental preservation through the poetry of Dr. Seuss.I live in an historic southwest-Florida neighborhood, not far from the winter home of the late, great Thomas Edison. Thankfully --- and I say that because the sun is brutal down here --- we are rich in mature trees, our yards