How Does One Stop Gambling?

Q: Loved your book. If there is one thing you know, Mr. Allen, it is the gambling world. Your book brought many smiles to my face and it also made me face a tragic reality. I am hooked and maybe there is no way out for me. This gambling thing is ruining my life. Believe it or not, I am the kind of guy you wrote about who will borrow money to gamble and leave his bills unpaid. I went for three weeks without gas to heat my home because I could not afford to pay the gas man. I froze my butt off! The funny thing is that minutes before I left the casino that last time, I had won enough money to pay the gas man to turn my gas back on AND TO BUY FOOD. Sadly, like most gamblers, I kept right on playing and soon had LOST IT ALL BACK. I drove back home to a freezing house. I froze for three weeks. I didn't even have enough money to buy one of those portable electric heaters. Every night as I lay bundled up in 300 blankets, I cursed myself for being so stupid. Why couldn't I just leave when I was winning? Why couldn't I just get up and leave? The funny thing, the sick thing, the really sick thing, is that during those three weeks of cold, I was twice able to borrow money from friends to turn back on the gas and what did I do with the money they loaned me? I went to the casino and lost it all. During those three weeks of cold I thought about a lot of things under those blankets. Like my life savings, which was all gone, like the love of my life, who had dumped me, and most of all how pathetic I was under all of those blankets thinking about how angry I was that I could not gamble. That's right. Despite all that I had lost, the main thing on my mind was to gamble some more. I had lost over a hundred thousand dollars in life savings. I had blown, as usual, that month's pay check (I get paid once a month). I was freezing my butt off in the richest country in the world. Enough was enough. Since that time I have been strong enough to fight it. In the last 30 days I have only visited the casino like twice and have had the strength to get up and leave with money in my pocket when I started losing. It is hard, but I am fighting it. I think I can beat this thing. Memories of the cold are hard to forget.

A: Thanks for the letter. Sorry that I had to edit it. I loved it, but there were a few granmmar issues and also I don't think it is wise to put your personal information out there like that.

I am glad that you are fighting it, and I wish you luck. But in the interest of the uninformed who are reading this post I have to be blunt with you:

You are full of crap and you will fail.

Your strength alone is not enough to stop you from gambling. Your strength? LOL. You are a punk. You blew a hundred grand after working for God knows how many years at a job you probably hate and just because you grew icicles on your nose, you think you are strong enough to beat gambling? Wake up, Frosty the Snowman! You are in denial, and denial is going to suck another hundred grand out of you if it doesn't kill you first. Are you a casual gambler? No. You are a GAMBLER in all CAPS. If you are a gambler, there is no in between. The casino is there to do one of two things: Take ALL of your money, or convince you to commit suicide.

You were not strong enough to stop when you were down ten grand. You were not strong enough to stop when you were down 50 grand. You were not strong enough to stop when you had blown 100 hundred grand (and probably blown through all of your credit cards) and were living paycheck to paycheck. Now you actually believe you are strong enough to stop after a few cold nights? Brother, the nights are always cold for a gambler.

If you want to show strength, pick up the phone and dial 1-888-ADMIT IT. Join GA now! These people can help you--if you are ready to be helped and not just talking crap, like I know that you are.

If you want to show strength go back to the casino and speak to the floor man or the pit boss. Tell them these words: I WANT YOU TO BAN ME FROM THIS CASINO FOR LIFE.

They will do it, and you will not be allowed to go back there.

You, my friend, have had a chilly winter, but you have not hit rock bottom yet. But you will one day soon, and it is going to make your chilly winter seem like a warm day at the beach.

Stop talking crap and get help. You cannot do it alone.

None of us can.

One does not stop gambling by going to the casino! Duh!

Great letter, though.

Thanks,

Preston

Where Do Gamblers Get Money to Gamble?

Q: I gave your book, ALL OR NOTHING, to my girlfriend who enjoyed it too but asked, "Where do gamblers get all of that money to spend gambling?"

A: LOL. Good question. The answer is that they beg, borrow, and steal. I have met gamblers who liquidate their life savings, life insurance, 401Ks, credit cards, college savings funds; I know gamblers who sell their own blood, their fancy cars, rent out rooms in their houses, take out second and third mortgages, blow their inheritances and much more than that. By the way, these are the non-criminal gamblers.

We have all heard stories about the embezzlers and prostitutes of the gambling world--at least the ones who get caught.

But think about a woman or man who remains with a wealthy partner, whom they hate, because he/she provides them with money to gamble. Think about people who stay at a job they hate because it provides them with money (or the flexibility of hours) to gamble.

I know of bus drivers (obviously) who gamble. I know of police officers who gamble. I know of physicians who gamble. And when I say "gamble," I mean that they are addicted gamblers I have met regularly in the casinos and in GA.

Where do they get the money to gamble? Lots of places, but mostly from other people. In fact, if gamblers weren't addicted to gambling, they would make great fundraisers.

I know of a gambler who was down 2k after a night at the machines. He had the usual complaints--he was not going to be able to pay his water bill, he was not going to be able to pay his electricity, he was not going to be able to buy groceries, and so on and so forth. So a few of us got together and helped him out a little bit, and then he contacted some other friends of his, and within a few hours he had collected more than the 2k he needed to pay all of his bills. The next night at the casino he blew another 2k or so and the whole process of begging started over again. The only thing he didn't pay was his bills. His electricity was cut off for like the millionth time and his water too, but he had borrowed 2k to gamble with.

Thanks,

Preston

Black History

Q: You are a pretty good writer. I enjoyed your novel ALL OR NOTHING. It is the best book I have ever read seriously without wanting to put it down. As an African American reader to an African American writer, I am wondering if you are ever going to write something that gives back to the community. Are you ever going to write a book about black history that can be used in schools?

A: Thanks for the kind words about my book.

Every writer has a genre that he/she writes in. At this moment I am not writing historical fiction. That is not my genre. However, I do address many cultural and social issues in my work, and race relations in America is one that shows up from time to time because of my own personal experience with it. Examples of it can be found even in my erotica (See "Southernmost Triangle" in WANDERLUST: EROTIC BLACK TRAVEL TALES edited by Carol Taylor).

Or are you asking whether or not I am going to write a biographical work on, say, Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King, Sojourner Truth? To answer that question let me say that at this time I am writing fiction exclusively--but I do have some projects in mind for the future.

Thanks,

Preston

Are You Gay?

Q: I am a woman who has read all of your novels and all of your erotica and most I think of your published short stories. Are you gay or bisexual? I'm not trying to offend you. I'm complimenting you I think. Some of the things you say and your attitude remind me of a gay friend I have and he is very humorous. If you do not publish this question or answer it on your blog I will understand.

A: I am not gay or bisexual.

In real life, no one ever asks me this question (because I am too macho!). But on the blog, I have been asked this question by readers at least 6 times. Maybe because gays and lesbians show up in my work with some frequency? Because I have many gay and bisexual friends? I do not know.

So there! I have answered the question. I am not gay. No, I am not hiding any sexual secrets. No, I am not repressing any hidden desires. I like women--a lot. Too much.

LOL. Thanks for asking.

Preston

Jesus Boy

Q: When is your next book due out and what are you working on after that?

A: The next book is called JESUS BOY and it is due out April 1, 2010. I am going to create a blogsite specifically for the book as soon as the cover and etc. are confirmed.

Well, as you know, there are a couple of books that I was born to write: A book about gambling, a book about church, a book about car salesmen, and a book about fathers. I took care of the gambling theme in ALL OR NOTHING. I did my church book in JESUS BOY. I have two more to go, car salesmen and fathers.

Two down.

Two to go.

In the meantime, I have completed a mystery/thriller about a female cop who is abducted by a serial rapist, a fantasy novel set in a world in which humans are pets, and two short story collections: one that pays homage to the work of Edgar Allan Poe, and another that pays homage to depression era gangsters John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Baby Face Nelson.

Thanks,

Preston

Nostalgia Equals 20 to 30 Years Ago

Q: I have written a novel loosely based on my life, much of it set in the sixties through eighties. My agent has tried and failed to make a book deal she says because the publishers feel that the book needs to be updated a few decades and set in the eighties through the millenium. They want it to be more current, especially since the focus of the book is not really about those decades, but about my life and family events, which just happened to occur during those decades.

My agent agrees with the publishers who have rejected the book; thus, I am in the process of re-writing it to be more current, although with some misgivings. What do you think? Should I set my book in recent decades to make it more current?

A: If you have a publisher who is willing to make a deal based on an update and the update does not ruin the book, then go for it.

It seems that most publishers want novels that are set in present day unless there is a very good reason for setting them in the past. This makes sense, I suppose, because readers are more likely to buy books that are current.

Nostalgia does sell, however. These days people seem to be interested in the seventies and eighties. The sixties are still popular. Every now and then we get a few books set in the fifties and forties, but not so much anymore. Books about the fifties were very popular back in the seventies and eighties.

Here's something I was told by a writer friend. I do not know if this is a hard and fast rule (and I myself do not follow it)--but here it is; if the year itself is irrelevant to the plot, always set your book in present day: and if you must set it in the past, set it 20-30 years ago.

He argued that setting it 20-30 years ago will attract the "nostalgia" readers. The most active book buyers, those in the 30 to 50 age range, will be attracted to a book set during the good old days when they were teenagers and young adults.

Ten years ago is too recent--you might as well update it and make it present day. The people who were teens to young adults ten years ago, are still young adults, and as they are still getting their careers in order they are not yet in that place where they will yearn for the good old days.

Forty, fifty and more years ago is too far in the past--you might as well update it and make it present day. The people who were teens to young adults forty and more years ago have most likely already fallen in love with cherished classics (and specific writers) who feed their need for nostalgia--it will be hard to supplant them.

I do not know if I agree with this, and I am still mulling it over, but there you have it.

Thanks,

Preston

Should I Show It to My Friends?

Q: I’m currently writing a novel, and I asked my close friends to read it and let me know what I could do to improve it.

1. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I would like for this novel to appeal to teenagers and adults, without being too graphic, and have some elements of realism to the characters and plot (even though it is a paranormal novel).

2. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

H.D.

A:

1. Finish writing the book before you show it to anyone.

2. Join a writers group or take a creative writing class.

3. Read as many books in that chosen genre as you can.

4. Don't write down to children and teenagers. They will see your con coming from a mile away.


Thanks,

Preston

I Have Ideas But Not Enough Time to Write a Novel

Q: Hi Preston L. Allen. May I call you Preston? Many years ago I was in an MFA program but left it after a year to get married and start a family. I have since published several short stories in literary magazines and have a pretty good idea for a novel, but with the time constraints on my life due to full time employment and raising two children I find it impossible timewise to complete such a lengthy prose work. After two years of working on the book, I have a completed outline and a mere thirty pages of prose. I read your blog on "getting up early in the morning and working on the book every day." That does not work for me. I teach high school English and am too tired to get up so early. I need more time. Writing takes time. Where can I find more time?

Thanks, J.O.

A: At the rate you are going, in twenty years you will be on page 300 and the book will be completed. And it will probably be a great book because of all of the time you spent working and thinking about it. It will be your masterpiece. Your Magnum Opus. A book like that is worth waiting twenty years for.

On the other hand, you should clean out your emails if you want motivation to write your novel.

What?

Clean out your emails.

This week my English Department email account started bouncing back emails. The account was over full. I was way beyond the limit. I had over 3000 emails that needed to be deleted.

SO I began to delete old emails, but since some of them were important things that I needed to keep for a variety of personal and work related reasons--I opened a WORD file and began cutting and pasting the old emails into it.

I only went back a year and a half, which was enough to free up space so that I could use the system again.

A year and a half . . .

I only went back a year and a half--and I filled a WORD file that is 390 pages long, a page count that is longer than any novel I have ever published.

In other words, I wrote, in one year and a half, at least enough email prose to fill a good sized novel . . .

How much email prose have you written?

How much Myspace prose?

How much Facebook?

How Much Text Message?

How Much Twitter?

Maybe you aren't the kind of writer to rise at 5 a.m. But are you the kind who will email yourself, each day, a few paragraphs from your novel in progress?

The key is to steal some writing time from time that you ALREADY spend writing.

Your new novel will be ready in a year and a half.

I hope this helps, J.O.

Thanks,

Preston

What part of writing do you hate

Q: What part of the writing process do you hate?

A: There is no part of the writing process that I hate. I love to think about stories. I love to write stories, even long ones like novels, that may take years to complete. I love revising stories, even long ones like novels, that may take years to revise. I like doing research for stories I plan to write. I like workshopping stories with my friends who are writers and readers. I like getting feedback about my stories, even negative feedback. I like giving feedback. I like working with editors.

If there is a part of the process that I like least it would have to be trying to read my handwritten comments and fixes, and transfer them from the page to the computer. In truth, I do not dislike that part of it either, per se, but it has become more difficult because of my ever weakening vision.

Thanks,

Preston

Rejection

Q: How do you deal with negative criticism as a writer? Does it hurt?

A: Now, I have been fortunate. Knock on wood. Most of my criticism has been positive.

To answer your question, yes, negative criticism hurts. But it is a part of being a writer, and an important part. It keeps you on your toes. It keeps you performing at a high level. It keeps you from getting comfortable and slacking off.

Furthermore, you have to put it all into perspective. We writers get rejected a lot. Rejections hurt a lot, and we get rejected a lot. So when we are reading a piece of negative criticism of something of ours that was accepted by a publisher and is published and in print, it is but one defeat after a string of many successes. In short, it is a victory to find oneself in a position to even be the object of negative criticism.

And here is something else, criticism, any kind of criticism, means that you are being read, and that is not a bad thing.

Thanks,

Preston