I got my first book deal when I was in college, but it was published in Germany, and I could never actually read it.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I collect books, primarily first-edition 20th-century fiction.
I've never set a book in Europe. I've lived in Europe three times, but somehow or other it wasn't the experience that engaged me in that way.
My first book deal was actually for a textbook - 'Judo and You' - that I wrote while teaching at Temple University. A scout for Kendall-Hunt came looking for someone to write the book, and even though it wasn't a course I was teaching there, I agreed to write it.
I got a book deal without even turning in one shred of a writing sample.
This book was company for me - I wrote these things when I was in hotels, far from where I normally live. I never intended to publish it.
My first book didn't even have a Canadian publisher. And that upset me, because I so wanted a readership up there.
I was lucky enough to be given books that weren't top sellers; books that were kind of under the radar.
I was lucky in getting my first book published; my first book was 'Bunnicula,' which I wrote with my late wife Debbie, for the fun of it.
The first book I did - the first successful book - was a kind of a travel book, and publishers in Britain encouraged me to do more.
My book collection is primarily in America, since that's where I've lived most of my life.