My New Book!

by Alan Brochstein

This has been a busy week for me! I have said for a long time that this blog is not dedicated to cannabis stocks, but the last four articles that I wrote have been on that topic:

You can read all of my posts by clicking the link, and you can see the ones on the cannabis stock sector too. I have written several articles this week at Seeking Alpha too! It is a crazy week for the cannabis sector.

I have started sharing fiction pieces here, with three posts so far:

• Black Magic on 7/29

• A Nasty Nightmare Evolves on 7/22

• I Killed My Mother on 5/24

I enjoyed the piece of fiction on 5/24 so much that I decided to start writing a book right then, and I finished the first draft in mid-June despite my delay with the emergency room stay. It was originally entitled Doctor Foster Saved My Life, but that was a bad choice, and I changed it to Doctor Foster Saved Her Father, which was another bad choice. It is now entitled Mile High Magic, though that may be a bad choice again! I will explain the book below and why I have entitled it this way for now.

First, I want to share that there are 67K words across 35 chapters. I am trying to get it published. The way to get a book published is to find a literary agent, and I have contacted 68 so far. I have heard back from about 1/4 of them. None of them have criticized it at all, but they have no interest in taking on this first-time novelist who is 60 years old (though none of them say anything like that!).

So, this is one of the reasons I am posting this: If anyone knows a publisher or a literary agent that might be interested, please let me know!

Of course, this is not my first book, as I wrote about the tragedy from 2022 in 2023, Happier Than Ever.

So, the book is called Mile High Magic and has 35 chapters. I have already revised the structure a bit and just made it sequential, but originally there were 36 chapters. The first one was the marriage of the two protagonists, but I have moved that into the middle, where the reception was previously. Here are the titles of the 35 chapters:

Here is a synopsis that I have been sharing with some potential listing agents:

Mile High Magic is about a woman from Denver who moves to NYC after graduating and works at the MoMA. She lives on the Upper West Side and goes shopping at the Fairway up there, seeing an attractive man. She introduces herself to him, and their romance takes off. They get married 10 months later. She is white, and he is Black. That is not an issue for them at all, but her father is a racist, which does create a challenge. The only real challenge they have in their relationship deals with sex, as she delays it because she wants to develop a friendship first, which they do. By the way, the father develops blood cancer. It does not kill him, but it kills his racism, as the doctor who treats him and saves his life is Black. This is a romance story, but it is really a women's fiction about a very strong person in the protagonist.

I called it Mile High Magic because she is from Denver, the "Mile High City" where they get married, it is magical that they are able to overcome her father's racism, and his name is Ervin Jones, which sounds like a well-known basketball player (not intended!). Magic Johnson is Earvin not Ervin, but this Ervin's "johnson" is magic too Lindsey!

I am going to share the first chapter here now. No one has read this at all except perhaps the potential literary agents. As I say to them, this is not finalized! I know that I may need to make some changes. I encourage anyone that has any feedback to share it with me either in the comments here or by email or phone.

Chapter 1 – Lindsay and Ervin Meet

Lindsay, who lived on West 86^th Street in New York City, loved to go to the Fairway on Broadway and 74^th, and she went there on Sunday, August 22, 1993 to buy dinner for that night and to stock up her kitchen for the upcoming week. Most of the younger folks on the Upper West Side were away during the weekends, visiting the Hamptons or going to Connecticut or upstate, and Fairway was pretty empty on this late-summer day. She got there at 3:30 and immediately went to the produce section.

She grabbed some oranges, two bananas, some lettuce, red peppers and onions, and some broccoli. Next, she headed for the beef. Along the way, she grabbed a carton of yogurt. When she got to the meat department, she grabbed ground beef for dinner that night, and she also picked up some boneless/skinless chicken breast for Monday night. She went to the cashier to check out, and she saw a tall, dark, and handsome man at the next register over.

After paying for her groceries, she thought about introducing herself. In the 7 years that she had been in the Big Apple after graduating from college, she had not met that many interesting men, but she decided to give it a shot. “Hello, I am Lindsay Raddock. I love Fairway!” He turned to her, and said “Nice to meet you, Lindsay. I am Ervin Jones.”

Lindsay said, “You must live near here. I have lived on West 86^th for the past three years.” Ervin said that he lives on West 78^th. They walked out the store and took a left on Broadway, heading towards their apartments.

She asked, “What do you do here in NYC?” Ervin responded, “I work on Wall Street. I ride the 2 from 72^nd each morning and back each afternoon.”

“I work in that direction too, but I just ride the local train to Midtown, exiting at 50^th and Broadway. I work at the Museum of Modern Art.”

“Yeah, if I were to have seen you on the subway, I would have remembered you, as you are very beautiful.” Lindsay, who thought she looked okay, did not consider herself “beautiful.” She thanked him for the kind words and asked, “You go up to women on the subway?” “It’s been known to happen,” responded Ervin.

They got to 78^th Street and Lindsay told Ervin that she was stopping at Zabar’s. He said that he loved that store, and he told her that he would go there with her. They walked in after crossing West 80^th, and Lindsay headed straight to the coffee, picking up a package. She asked Ervin if he had ever had any of their babka, and he said that he had not.

“It is so good! Try some,” said Lindsay. “I love their rugelach,” said Ervin, “so I will give it a try.” Lindsay grabbed a couple of chocolate babkas, and they headed to the cashier. She paid, and they walked out the door, preparing to go their separate ways. She handed him one of the babkas, and watched his face light up as he bit into it. “Man is this delicious,” he said. Lindsay thought to herself that he would be delicious.

“Ervin, I am so glad that we met, and I am happy that you like my favorite sweet in the world,” said Lindsay. “Yes, thanks for the treat,” replied Ervin. “Can I have your phone number,” he asked. She gladly shared it with him, and she headed home.

Lindsay thought Ervin was handsome when she first saw him, and their brief discussion and quick trip to Zabar’s left her even more attracted. The whole time she had been in NYC, she had not had a boyfriend, and she had never thought about dating an African-American before. Not that she had anything against any race or any religion, but she knew her parents would not be happy if she were to date a non-white. His working on Wall Street did not excite her, but she liked that he lived close by and was gainfully employed.

She had given him her number, but she wondered if he would call her. She walked into her apartment at 4:45, and started to eat her babka. The phone rang right away! She answered it not knowing who it might be, and it was Ervin. After saying hello, he said, “Hello again, Lindsay.” She said, “That didn’t take you long.” He replied, “That Babka was incredible. You know the way to a man’s heart.”

They talked for a few more minutes, and Ervin asked her to join him for dinner on Tuesday. She said that she would meet him, and they decided to eat at La Caridad, a Chino-Latino restaurant on 7^8th and Broadway. It was right near where Ervin lived, and, when he suggested it, he said that he really enjoyed eating there. Lindsay liked it too, especially the service. Many of the waitstaff had been there for years.

They met at 8 PM, and La Caridad was pretty crowded. They grabbed a table next to the window on Broadway, and Ervin told Lindsay that the Vaca Frita was his favorite dish. She ordered the sauteed sliced chicken liver, her favorite. They both ordered soups too. The food came out quickly. Ervin enjoyed his wonton soup, and Lindsay liked her hot and sour soup.

While they waited for their main dishes to arrive, Lindsay asked him where he grew up. Ervin said that he had grown up in Chicago. Lindsay had gone to college near Chicago, attending Northwestern University in Evanston. She shared that with him, and he was glad to share a Chicago background with her. She said that she had graduated in 1986 and that she loved NU and Chicago.

Ervin realized then that he was a bit younger than her, and he told her that he graduated from University of Michigan in 1988. She was already turned on by Ervin, but his being two years younger turned her on even more.

Lindsay asked, “Why did you choose U of M?” Ervin said that he went to Michigan because it was a very good school in a beautiful location. Lindsay had never been to Ann Arbor, but she had heard that the school was strong academically and that the campus was gorgeous.

Their dinner came, and they shared a portion of the entrees, each liking the other’s choice.  When they finished the meal, Ervin paid, and Lindsay thanked him. “Hey, would you like to go shoot some pool? I know a great place,” said Ervin. Lindsay enjoyed shooting pool and she wanted to extend the date, so she said yes, without even knowing where they were going.

When they left La Caridad, Ervin hailed a cab. They jumped in, and he asked for an address on East 21^st. Lindsay, having no idea what their destination was, asked him. “Café Society,” answered Ervin. Lindsay had never heard of it and did not know the Flatiron part of NYC that well.

They exited the cab and went in. They were able to rent a pool table, and Ervin asked if she wanted a drink. Lindsay did, and she ordered a Frangelico. Ervin was kind of embarrassed that he liked it, but he ordered one too.  They were enjoying their hazelnut liqueurs and enjoying shooting pool. Lindsay was really enjoying watching Ervin’s very muscular arms. She had not had a drink with dinner, and the Frangelico was not really hitting her at all, but Lindsay was very aroused.

The booze was flowing and they were actively shooting pool, but the conversation continued. They talked about where she grew up, Denver. Ervin had never visited, and Lindsay really liked it. She loved going West on I-70 to the Rocky Mountains, and she loved where they lived, Cherry Creek. She had lived in the same house her whole life before going to college.

Ervin told her that he grew up in Belmont Gardens near Pulaski Road. Lindsay never visited there when she lived in Evanston, though it was just 15 miles away. Ervin also said that his parents, divorced now, were hard workers. Lindsay, who did not really get along with her parents, held off saying much about them.

They had finished their pool match, with Ervin beating Lindsay, and it was 10:30. Ervin suggested that they go to Ben & Jerry’s in the East Village, and Lindsay was happy to do so. They walked there, getting to the ice cream parlor, a mile away, a little before 11:00. Ervin put his arm around her as they were walking. He held the door open for her, and they both entered. Lindsay really liked the East Village, and Ervin told her that he enjoyed spending time there as well. They ordered their ice creams and sat to enjoy them. At 11:30, it was time to go.

They jumped in a cab to get home, and Ervin told the driver West 8^th and West End Avenue, and the driver sped off. As they got to her apartment, Lindsay got a bit nervous. It had been a great first date, but how would it end? Ervin had already been a bit close, touching her several times, and they had engaged in a fantastic conversation and enjoyed good times. Lindsay had not had this much fun on a date in a long time. Would Ervin expect her to invite him up? She had no idea. Her goal was to get a second date, as she thought Ervin was potentially a good catch.

When the cab pulled up to the apartment building, Ervin said to her, “I had such a nice time with you tonight. I need to get up very early and need to get home so that I can get some sleep. I am sorry to end this wonderful evening like this.”

Lindsay was relieved that she did not need to figure out what to do, though she was sad that the evening was ending. She told Ervin that she had a fantastic time with him and that it was okay to call it a night. Before she got out of the cab, Ervin kissed her, and it was a real turn-on to her. She had had some boyfriends back in college, some with kisses, but she had never been so impressed by a kiss before. She was not sure if it was Ervin or his skin color being black that excited her so much. She did enjoy her first kiss ever with an African-American.

As she tried to fall asleep, her mind was stuck on how she had learned about African-Americans. She had had some African-American friends in college, and she had met plenty of African-Americans in New York City, but she was kind of embarrassed by her main source of information being Norman Lear.

When she was in middle school and high school, she used to watch all the reruns on television of shows like Sanford & Son, from 1972, Good Times, from 1974, and The Jeffersons, from 1975. She also liked Different Strokes, which was not produced by Lear but that pulled from his work. Janet Jackson and Gary Coleman were both in it, and they had been on Good Times too. She liked All in the Family, Lear’s first show, but she liked what grew out of that better. Lindsay knew that television comedies were not the best way to learn about life, but she appreciated the effort Lear made in the 70s with these shows and other things he had done with his life in the 80s to help fight racism.