D'yall know that Tommy Chong (of Cheech and Chong fame) had a New York Times Best Seller? And not just a book he bought to use as rolling paper, an actual tome he wrote.

Looks as though he's about to have another one with Cheech and Chong: The Unauthorized Autobiography. Due out Aug. 12, the bio chronicles the pair's first meeting at a Vancouver nightclub, their career "highs," their separation and their 2005 reunion.

From the press material: "Tommy's biting wit and insider perspective truly makes the book a fascinating read."

And a great reminder of how many people have written books while we have slowly been wasting our lives.

Orange County's second-best former columnist (kisses) Rebecca Schoenkopf done written her book already (man, that was fast!), and she's coming to Book Soup to read from it.

Schoenkopf, aka Commie Girl, is a laugh-riot and a great story teller. So come out and support her. Saturday, 5 p.m. 8818 Sunset Blvd., W. Hollywood.

From the blurb:

continued...

James Frey has already received a public caning. So (unless we get some comped ring-side seats) we don't need to see another one. But still, the LAT piece on the front page acts as if "Pieces" was The Blair Witch Project and more of a hoax than a fabrication.

Is it because his new book is celebrating LA in literature and since Charles Bukowski isn't around anymore we've been deprived of that?
From LAT:

"I'm definitely more humble, I'm definitely more contained, I'm definitely living a quieter life," Frey said, popping one of many pieces of nicotine gum. "I'm just really grateful to have a book coming out. It's similar to 'A Million Little Pieces' -- I was just so excited to have a book coming out. It's awesome. I write about L.A. as the city of dreams, and this is another dream . . .

The blog, Mouse Words' creator Amanda Marcotte's book It's a Jungle Out There: The Feminist Survival Guide to Politically Inhospitable Environments. Is getting some rave..er...rant reviews.

Apparently a book illustrated with a busty blond cartoon beating up hostile dark people has created some controversy.

Of course, this is because it's about feminism. Ann Coulter does the same shtick but she knows her audience.

Vroman's bookstore will be invaded tonight by the likes of blogger and first time author Mark Sarvas. Mark is the founder of Elegant Variation an award winning lit site.

The LAT did a little Q&A with him today:

Speaking of rivalries, I see that Steve Almond, who you've attacked in the past, called you, years ago, "a wannabe writer bravely dedicated to long-distance slander." Is that a fair comment?

No, because actually it's libel when it's written: He should learn the difference.

Nice.

Thanks to our sister blog GalleyCat for this. This is part of a promo? Maybe? It's Peggy Seltzer/Margaret B. Jones when she was still playing ghetto.

"I could tell you stories where you would cry and it'll stay with you forever."

True dat!

This photo isn't of the panel. It's of another panel we found on google. We were told not to take photos and we we're trying to not get thrown out.

Panelists at "Agent's Voices" this year were George Borchardt, Sandra Dijkstra, Bonnie Nadell and Betsy Amster (who by this point KNOWS we're stalking her). Kim Dower AKA Kim from LA was the moderator.

The first question was about the state of the publishing industry with the internet and other distractions. It was mentioned that today there's a lot of noise in the industry and it's 'very crowded'. Noting that hundreds of thousands of books are published every year, Nadell said,"It's not that hard to get a book published - it's hard to get attention."

When asked how the panelists find clients all of them admitted it was mainly through referrals. But unsolicited query letters were not discouraged. Amster said that she absolutely goes through the slush pile. "Enough to keep it interesting," she said.

Another trick disclosed was what we call in Hollywood 'buzz'. Writing for magazines and newspapers and (ahem) blogs can start it. "Publish things that have agents coming after you," Dijkstra told the standing room only crowd.

We think it's worth mentioning that this is yet another arena where a popular sex tape could benefit you. But don't call us...we'll call you.

As we reported before Peggy Seltzer's name was brought up again. As was James Frey's. Dower asked the panel,"Will you even consider memoirs anymore?"

All of them nodded yes. Then Dijkstra said,"Truth? What is truth? We have a government that's a complete lie!" Which drew applause.

The Q&A session as expected saw a flood of people rushing to the two microphones.

One man, a self-described new novelist said,"I have gotten rejection letters from half of you panelists." The crowd laughed and we heard one of the agents ask if he carried a gun. He then said he sent out 20 query letters and all of them were rejected. "Oh that's nothing!" A panelist said. "Surely you can try the other two."

Then Amster (who we found out through google - wants you to google her - which felt a little like a scavenger hunt and we're ready for the next clue!) responded to a question by saying that a lot of information can be found on publishersmarketplace.com. The crowd then gave itself away when suddenly 150 pens wriggled simultaneously.

A number of L.A. Observed bloggers, including Veronique de Turenne, will descend upon the L.A. Times Festival of Books this year to speak on panels on topics ranging from non-fiction to surf culture.

We'd give you more details, but we're multi-tasking this week and we've all seen how that is working out for us.

Instead, check out the schedule here.

Carly Milne is a lot of things: Author of Sexography -- a memoir about sexually coming of age. A sexual abuse survivor. A founder of Moxie, a female-content driven web network. A former editor at Yahoo! Canada. An former editor at Adult Video News, and, of course, a blogger.

Now she's a fundraiser -- a controversial one at that.

Milne tells FBLA what it's been like to from writing her way through the world to being written about.

1. How has the media's response to the book been? It's been incredible in some ways, and cautious in others -- and I understand why. When you tell someone you've written a memoirs about your sexual exploits and include that it discusses rape, abuse and assault, people tend to get a little uncomfortable and assume it's a really dark tale. Obviously part of it is, but what I'm really focusing on is how it's a story about survival and finding peace when you don't think there is any... and that's when I'm not recounting the awkward, amusing and downright funny parts of my journey, some of which I think I now wish I hadn't written! But I'm finding that after people read it, they really get it. The most amazing thing has been getting e-mails from survivors who say my story isn't only mirroring
theirs, but helping them change their lives. That blows me away.

2. What's been the most awkward question an interview has posed to you so far? There's not a lot left to feel awkward about when you write a memoirs about nearly every aspect of your sex life!

3. Do you have any book-signings planned? I'm going to be having a signing and launch party at Freddy and Eddy's (12613 Venice Blvd, 877-915-0380) on Thursday, April 24th from 8 - 10 p.m., and I may even get up the courage to read something if I've had enough wine.

John Minervini digs a little deeper into the pre-publication life of Peggy Seltzer, aka Margaret B. Jones, for Willamette Week. He moved in on the eco-activist tip that Kevin Allman had uncovered.

Seltzer was supposed to be the spokesperson for the movement to free Jeff "Free" Luers, but she wasn't exactly a wow. A nameless source said:

Her involvement basically consisted of manipulating people, lying, pitting people against each other, taking on more responsibility than she should have and then dropping the ball on everything completely.

There's so much more to this story than her tawdry little memoir. Wouldn't it be great if some investigative reporter took a look?

Earlier:
Peggy Seltzer/Maragaret B. Jones