12 Miles to Paradise & Tuki Banjo, Superstar Destined for Europe
To say it is a boost for a writer to earn fans and business deals based on the strength of his or her work is a bigger understatement than saying kids like ice cream. I recently reached agreement with Slovakian publisher Peter Fritz to translate and print two of my works for the Slovak and Czech markets and am grateful and appreciative for this wonderful support.
The books are 12 Miles to Paradise (A People Story About Horses and Horse Racing) and Tuki Banjo, Superstar.
Peter became familiar with my work several years ago in Los Angeles when he was browsing a gift shop and picked up a copy of 12 Miles. After reading that one he tracked down Tuki. Both are multicultural ensemble stories with happy endings, which is how I wish the world would change its mind and decide to be. They are heartwarming and funny and I think the planet is a quart low on both of those these days.
12 Miles is a romantic comedy about one ordinary but stubborn horse that changes the lives of people in three countries.
Tuki is a continuation of the 12 Miles thread, but takes place seven years after 12 Miles ends with a new set of characters commanding center stage. The featured players in 12 Miles fade to token periphery in Tuki, an ultra-heartwarming story about a young woman’s quiet, determined pursuit of personal happiness despite a miserable upbringing. The lead character, Tuki, is my favorite ever. She is a blend of four great people I’ve come to know, each of whom inspired part of her singular personality and bullheaded gumption. The story is hers, sharing her life between the ages of 16 and 19 as she sets out to deal with the world on her terms but no money.
As luck would have it, featured in Tuki Banjo, Superstar is mention and inclusion of the world’s rarest coin. Since life tends to surprise us when we least expect it, that coin was on display during a national numismatic convention here in Denver a couple weeks ago. I traveled into the city to take a look. Under heavy guard the $7 million double-eagle gold piece rotated slowly on a small, lazy Susan insisw a bulletproof glass display box five feet from a uniformed police officer.
Leaning in I studied it — the very coin I had written about, one of a kind — and felt a happy, warm glow. I love Tuki’s story so much — she is so inspiring for so many reasons — that seeing the coin felt very right, like I was visiting a trusted old friend.
12 Miles to Paradise has been optioned three times by hopeful filmmakers, none of whom found the money to make it. Tuki has been optioned twice and suffered the same fate. Who knows? Maybe someone in Central Europe will read the stories in Slovak or Czech and decide to make the world a happier place by bringing one or both of these fun family stories to life on the silver screen.
12 Miles will make you laugh out loud with joy, cry from sorrow, and cry again from happiness. Tuki should do the same. She is magic; and once you read her heartwarming story you will love her forever. Her cast of surrounding characters is a basket full of whoopee cushions too. An odd bunch, perfectly blended. I miss the heck out of those guys.
For more on the stories, click the Book tab on the site and you’ll go right to it. Both sold through, which means you’ll need to track them down on the secondary market but that’s okay. What’s better than a deal on a great story? Not much, that’s for sure.
Take care,
