http://www.amazon.com/Life-Direct-DVD... author wins lotto...then goes mad! Hi, I am a b-level humorist; a pretty good story teller with a knack for recognizing the absurd. I have written three books, "OM", (createsspace )a short satire/novella about a pussy rubbing cult) based off of a Penthouse article I wrote in 2013. "Caught" (Creatspace,(about a black market fishing industry I was involved with, book did not sell well but almost got me killed) and Train Wreck self-published at first, but eventually picked up by Simon and Schuster. (Memoir based on some crappy jobs I had, and being confined to special education as a kid) Miraculously, lightning struck, and Train Wreck was made into a movie by Now closed: This is That productions (ted Hope Any Carey and others) and released by Lions Gate films in 2012, it was/is featured on HBO, for six month 2014-15. (new name American loser, name changed to stir an association with American Pie Trilogy Stars Seann William Scott, Gretchen MOl, Jeff Garlin..little cameo from one of my favorite author Jonathan Ames!) Though it somehow got a good review in Variety magazine, The movie is not great: no arche, no obstacles to over come for protagonist, no conflict, no resolutions, THESE ingredients must be present in all films idie or not (one star on Redbox.com and NExflix.. rather than entertain, AL made people angry ;they express there indignation by posting on sites..NOT A COMEDY!! etc, they felt doped..so angry they felt the need to review!) a little too slow for most, nor was the memoir great, the fish rots from the head, looking back, though it had good/funny sections, It was too episodic. NO/weak narrative! established competent agents and publishers told me this early on, but, still wanting to be the toast of the literary town, I did not want to listen to the establishment, so I went with the vanity Press. The result: a bad book made a bad movie, no supersize there. ( nO I am am not being self-deprecating in this case, though I do use that as a devise/crutch often) I run a very modest (as in, no money) fishing business out in Montauk NY. I was a stand up for a spell. When not living off/with my parents, I've make most of my money from writing, fishing, substitute teaching, and walking dogs in NYC. I also sold my self-published books on the street of New York. ( as Shown in PIcs.) Side note: s plea to stop the insanity of self-publishing. self-publishing is a rough road for most/too many people are doing it:300,000 in USA alone last year, 1.3 million uploaded last year world wide.!! Stop the insanity! SP is full of seduction, all the platforms, blogging, podcasts, hopes of "social media", translating to sales, lure us in. We drink the Cooliad. we are INCURRAGED by the few that hit it big, and follow them off the cliff: el Jmaes, fifty Shades of Gray Ect, (and there are a few more but most of the sP books are in Si fi Romance and usually have a Vampire or a Werwolf as there central character.) but in reality SP is road, I think for most anyway. to misery, to desperation. To annoying FB friends to repost links, then hating them when they don't. IN the end, lured by fame and notoriety, Self- publishing industry drops most of us off by an Underpass on a buzzy, smog choked free-way, bewildered, holding only our shoes, watching, helplessly as cars fly by. I digress: On a lighter note!! I have had stuff appear in Penthouse mag, THE New York Post, Dans paper, The Fisherman mag, and The New York Press, plus, THe Long Island Pulse., and our town.! I have been a guest on on NPR and the Howard Stern show. as a comic, I have opened for Pat copper, Lewis Black, Kevin Klein. new book coming out in June: How MY Slef Published Memoir, made it to Hollywood, and other self-publishing disasters