admin's blog

I've just got a few minutes to jump on one of the Rio's premium-priced (!) pcs to post a quick update:

Arrived 3 days ago and it's been a whirlwind. I've been at the Best Poker Stuff booth as my home base. I've met about 50 pros...many of whom appear in Life on Tilt. The reaction to the book has been great and I'll be posting photos with them when I return.

The first day I met a lot of folks who bought Tilt. Yesterday I had an opportunity to be on Gamblers Book Shop podcast and audition for the next season of Best Damn Poker Show. Yes, I made it to the finals and was grilled by Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke. I also had a chance to do a photo shoot with the Rounder Magazine girls. Be sure to check out their site as they've featured a full-page write up about Tilt in this month's World Series of Poker special edition.

First of all, my apologies for not being more diligent about posting blogs. I'm not a blogger by nature, so this is a bit new for me. Thanks for letting me know going two weeks between posts is bad etiquette!

Okay, so what have I been doing besides not blogging, you ask? I had a number of wonderful appearances in upstate NY as the Borders stores in that area helped promote the book in conjunction with Father's Day. I had a great time meeting many folks at the Rotterdam (Hi Brian!), Saratoga (Hi Rick!) and Clifton Park (Hi Julie!) Borders...particularly playing the "Poker Challenge" with customers.

The first published review of Life on Tilt hit the newstands today. It appeared in the June edition of Boom, a local publication aimed at those in the prime of life. Reviewer Madelyn Thorne seemed to really get the book, despite having limited familiarity with poker. I've posted the review in the forum section for your reading pleasure.

Last weekend I had the pleasure of meeting many customers at Market Block Books in Troy (thanks Stanley!) and Borders at Crossgates Mall (thanks Todd!). It was wonderful to chat books and poker with everyone. Saturday night I had the privilege of attending a CD release party for Dead-Lift, a terrific high-energy group who is really committed to their music and their fans. I think you'll be hearing a lot more from them in the future.

I was invited out to Book Expo America last week by the publisher. In case you aren't familiar, this is a major book show which attracts over 25,000 book industry people. I was thrilled that Life on Tilt was selected for the New Title Showcase.

The trip started on Wednesday with a little poker at Player's Park Casino, then a book signing at Metropolis Books in downtown LA (Hi Julie & Kristen!).

Whew!

Had a great release event in Albany, NY on Thursday. I'm posting the link to the article in the paper there. The reporter really got the story of Tilt. I'm also posting a couple of photos from the event.

Friday early AM I was off to Indiana for 3 bookstore appearances and a presentation at Indiana University to the Alumni Entrepreneurs group. Thanks to the Barnes & Noble guys (Hi Casey and Joe!) for your hospitality and to Ann at Borders/Indianapolis and John at Borders/Greenwood. Great working with you guys. I'm looking forward to coming back in September!

Tonight I did a signing in Scotia, NY and survived a contested race for the local school board (go Spartans!)

Hi folks - What a week!

First of all, thank you to all who have purchased the book on its official release date. I'm looking forward to getting a tally tomorrow, but we are well on our way to our goal just with the anecdotal responses received to the emails.

Between the pre-release activity and Kenna being in town, this week has been both a blast and a blur.

Monday night Kenna and I were at our friend Geoff's house at midnight playing poker and eating jambalaya with a great group of guys (yes - and thanks to Francine for being a great hostess!)

Tuesday & Wednesday were packed with media, book store stops, recording sessions and a bit more poker out at Turning Stone.

Hi there - It's only been a few hours since the emails went out and I'm thrilled to hear from so many of you. I'm touched by your kind words and appreciate you sharing my excitement as we approach the launch of the book. Some of you have asked about personal appearances and I will be adding several book signings, etc to the events tab over the next few days. At this point I know I'll be all over upstate New York, as well as Indianapolis and Philadelphia. Plans are taking shape for LA and Las Vegas as well. I'm looking forward to sharing the book trailer with you next week. I saw a rough cut of it a few days ago and it looks great. It really captures the imagery and emotion from the book. Keep in touch. John