Eric Luper's Random Musings

I am honored to be able to tell you that BUG BOY has been selected by the American Booksellers Association to be on the Autumn 2009 Kids' Indie Next List.



This is a great honor considering all the outstanding names that pepper this list. ABA, thank you for your consideration!

In BUG BOY, young jockey Jack Walsh is catapulted from unassuming exercise rider to well-known athlete in a matter of days. As a result, he is hounded by press and ends up in the "social pages" all the time. Here is an excerpt from page 160 or BUG BOY:

To top it off, even though it’s only got a six-week season, Saratoga is one of the most frou-frou tracks in the country. It’s always front page of the sports section. Sometimes it’s front page of the whole paper. As far as I know, I’ve never made front page of Sports or News—not in any of the rags—but the social pages are another matter entirely.

Short of Manhattan galas and maybe Los Angeles movie premieres, there are few events that see more flashbulbs than the ritzy Saratoga social spots during track season.

Well, the funny thing is that I'm in the social pages today. I opened the paper this morning to find this...



I know the image is tough to see, but that is me holding a copy of BUG BOY on the bottom left. In the larger picture to my right is Carson Kressley. In the photo at the top right is Bebe Neuwirth. It just amused me that I'm taking the place of Jack Walsh in the REAL social pages! Thank you, Albany Times Union! So much fun!

This weekend I had a signing at a great little store in Bolton Landing NY called Happy Jack's.



Not only did we sell some books but they brought me a lovely lunch and a grape Vitamin Water (my favorite!). Jeff, you rock! The highlight was a visit by fellow author, Alex Flinn. She has written many excellent books, including Diva, A Kiss in Time and Beastly. It was great to finally meet you, Alex!

This morning I had my second of two signings at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. They have been selling BUG BOY all kooky crazy! And I signed some books this morning. I signed books for the three humans (the rest are horses) being inducted to the Racing Hall of Fame this week: trainer Bob Baffert, trainer Janet Elliot (the second woman to be inducted ever), and jockey Eddie Maple.

After my event, I went over to the Fasig-Tipton Yearling auction. The auction is one of the most prestigious Thoroughbred auctions in the world and they are in their 111th year. I can't even begin to describe how beautiful the grounds are and how awesomely beautiful the horses are so I'm just going to show you a few photos.

Here is the walking ring where they parade the horses around:



And here are a few of the many beautiful horses:





This last horse was getting his hooves polished and his eyelashes combed. No surprise considering many of them will fetch more than $1 million tonight at the auction.



And here is where the magic happens. Horses come from all over the world to be bought and sold at Fasig-Tipton, which only happens four days per year. So if you've got a few hundred thousand burning a hole in your pocket, come on down and bid!



It's not easy to see, but the green area is where the horses stand and the dais behind that (between the black doors) is where the auctioneer stands. Last night they auctioned more than $25 million in horses. Amazing.

And here a phot that is just screaming for a caption:



My caption: What you talkin' 'bout, Willis?

Do you have a caption???

It would be really easy for me to talk about all the excitement around the huge benefit I signed at for Equine Advocates last night. I could talk about the crowds at the table.



I could talk about the stunning architecture of the historical Canfield Casino.



I could tell you how I signed books for a host of celebrities such as Carson Kressley (the guy from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy who incidentally complimented me on my tie!!), Bebe Neuwirth (Lilith from Cheers), Jack Knowlton (owner of the famed horse Funny Cide), and Josephine Abercrombie (major equine philanthropist, and I'd like to think the Abercrombie behind Abercrombie and Fitch, but I'm not sure about that).

But really, the night was all about horses.



Who steps in when the police get a call about a horse living in such squalid conditions that it is lying chest deep in manure in its stall to avoid standing out in the elements?



Who steps in when a premarin hormone facility is raided because the mares are being terribly neglected or abused (yes, those are brands)?



Who steps in when ponies at children's day camps are sent to slaughter after they've served for riding lessons for the summer (yes, this really happens)?



Who steps in when a donkey or miniature ass (heh, I said miniature ass) is no longer needed at a petting zoo or has their hooves shaved down so far that they can barely stand?



Equine Advocates steps in. I had the pleasure of visiting their facilities down in Chatham, NY and was touched and amazed at what these people do, what they have devoted their lives to. They take abused and neglected horses (and all other equines), relocate them to their pastoral farm, treat them medically, rehabilitate them and ensure that they live safe, heallthy and dignified lives.



If Equine Advocates existed back in 1934, when Bug Boy takes place, I suspect they would have had their hands full. Back then animals were treated as commodities rather than as living, breathing creatures. But as a result of the hard work of people like Susan and Karen Wagner, things have improved a great deal. There is still plenty of room for improvement and these people need lots of support to do it. If you have the means, consider sponsoring a horse!

And to Equine Advocates, thanks for all you do.

For most people, Tuesday at Saratoga is what is called a "Dark Day." It's a day for the workers and track-goers and the horses to rest. There is no racing on Tuesday, but for me there was a ton of excitement. I had a signing at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.



The signing was at 10 in the morning. I will admit that I had reservations about doing a signing that early on a weekday. The great news is that I was wrong. I blew through stock in about 20 minutes and had to replentish the piles from the boxes in my car. Not only did friends show up, but people who heard me on the radio, read about me in the paper and saw me on television.

Really amazing.

Following my signing, I had a few minutes to sit with one of the greatest horses of all time, Seabiscuit:



Afterwards, I headed to a few outside-of-the-track, away-from-the-museum spots where scenes in BUG BOY take place. One of the wonderful things about Saratoga is that many of these places have not changed appreciably since 1934.

There is the Adelphi Hotel where Jack's debutante friend, Elizabeth Reed, stays with her family during track season. I assure you there are no Hummers in my 1934 novel, but if you swapped that abomination with a Duesenberg this photo would be pretty accurate. If you look closely, there is a raised terrace at the base of the yellow pillars. This is where Elizabeth looks down to Jack on the street:



They call it Saratoga Springs for a reason. There is a large underground spring that comes close to the surface just under the city. There are more than 100 springs through the area that have been built and are free for public consumption. BEWARE: some of the springs are more "minerally" than others so some of the water tastes like sulphur. But some people believe the minerals have restorative powers!!!



Here is a close-up of the water coming from the spring.



And here is another spring I came upon. Imagine little pavillions like this on various street corners and in all the little parks throughout town:



This is the Canfield Casino, one of the old social clubs. Most of the original social clubs, like the Brook (where a few scenes in Bug Boy take place), are gone now, but this one has been preserved. It's right in the middle of Congress Park and now houses the Saratoga Historical Society. They also have catered events here.



Here is the antique carousel that sits in Congress Park. Originally, I had a scene on this carousel. It was a fun little scene where all the backstetch buddies were hanging on horses and joking about being in a real race. Then I found out that as a result of the Great Depression the carousel had been removed from the park between 1933 and 1940 or so. I suppose that's the nature of writing historical fiction. So, I relocated the scene to Victoria Pool at Saratoga Spa State Park, which was under construction at the time.



The day was slipping away so it was time to head home, but I couldn't leave the area without driving by the Lincoln Bath House. For those of you who read Bug Boy, you'll remember what happens in the Lincoln Bath House. For those of you who have not read it, you'll want to!



Back then, this place was brand new and, providing over 4,500 tratments per day, it was the largest bath house in the world. As I mentioned before, the springs at Saratoga are high in mineral content and people believed this water had restorative properties. Saratoga Spa State Park was built at FDR's urging during the New Deal. The idea behind the park was to offer health getaways to people. Visitors would stay at the Gideon Putnam Hotel and meet with a team of doctors. These doctors would prescribe things like mineral baths, massage, pressure washes, walks, rounds of golf, swimming in the pool, and of course drinking of the mineral water. Sounds like a nice few weeks, huh?

If you want to read my blog entry about exploring this deserted bath house, chillaxing at the still-functioning Roosevelt Bath House, and my exploits on the back of a robotic Thoroughbred race horse, check out my post from March 2007! You won't be disappointed!