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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

I am one of the ten

I'm starting to get sick. Maybe it's a cold. A sign of this is random blog posts in the middle of the night that say things you don't want them to say. Another sign is weird dreams. I had one last night that dealt with my quixotic journey to be a successful author.

Here's how it went: I'm on campus here at Long Beach State University and I just got something from the Starbucks, a coffee let's say. On my way to find a table to sit in and write, someone walks up to me wearing a smile and says, "I am one of the ten."

It's like a shot in the gut. A genuine smile fills my face. I think I blush too. I have no words to say back to this person. There is only a dreamy sense of joy. That's when the dream ends.

What this person said is a reference to a joke I made in another blog entry, the one about the 99 cent store.

I said that before the year is out, ten people will surely buy my novel. And the person in the dream was one of the ten. Wouldn't that be something? It's just such a random thing.

I want to go to sleep but I have a mountain of work to do. If you haven't noticed, my blog tour starts next week. Here is the schedule: Schedule.

There are a ton of great things going on. Despite petty wishes and dreams, the novel is real. I have to do what I can for it. Who knows? Maybe one day you'll walk up to me and say, "I am one of the ten."





LC

PS: Yes. I am one of the ten.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Louis Corsair

I have an affinity for names. I am Shakespeare's "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

Long ago, I debated with myself about what constituted my identity. Who am I? Was it my cultural background? Was it my nationality? Was it my race? Was it my job or status as a soldier? Was it the place I lived in or was born in? The philosophical question led me to this, among other conclusions: I am not a name. This leaves open a few playful possibilities. One of them is a lack of attachment to my birth name, which allows me to use other names. Louis Corsair is a name I chose for myself in or about 2006, maybe 2007 when, for the first time, I was a part of a writer's workshop.

It doesn't mean I'm a pirate or aspire to be one.

When I came up with the name I attended Santa Monica College. The school's nickname is "The Corsair" and its students are the Corsairs. I was a Corsair too, a Louis Corsair. Yes, my school spirit was that great. But keep in mind that I attended Santa Monica College immediately after I left the military. Months before my release date, one of my good friends had sold me on the idea of going to the school that was by the beach in Santa Monica. So, I was excited and proud.

You may be wondering if I don't have the same type of love for Long Beach State University, where I study now. Well, that's more complicated. But the main reason is this: The school's nickname is "the Forty-Niners," a reference to the California Gold Rush, and their mascot is a Popeye-looking fellow who is one of these miners. The students are the Forty-Niners. I am a Forty-Niner too. You see the problem?

"Louis Forty-Niner" just doesn't have the same ring that "Louis Corsair" has. And there would be awkward guesses as to what the "Forty-Niner" in my name was a reference to. I'll stick with Louis Corsair. Call that my prejudice.



LC