I am blessed by the kindness of strangers.

The latest blessed stranger is Marla Wolf, whose generous assistance I cannot hope to repay. Marla has booked me into ELEVEN schools on my November trip to Chicago. Among them –

• Hyde Park Academy (formerly Hyde Park High). Hyde Park High is the setting for much of To Walk Humbly, the novel I am writing now. My mom graduated from Hyde Park High; I’d have too, except my family fled to the suburbs during the “white flight” that is a subject of this novel.

• Englewood Academy (formerly Englewood High). Key characters in To Walk Humbly  live in Englewood, the neighborhood to the southwest of Hyde Park. My dad grew up in Englewood; he attended Englewood High until my grandparents packed him off to military school.

• Shore High (formerly South Shore High), in the neighborhood just south of Hyde Park. When I was growing up in Hyde Park, many of my friends attended South Shore.

I met Marla through Gail Duberchin, another so-far stranger of immense kindness. Gail and I are on a listserv about marketing Jewish-themed books. One day Gail, who is in the Chicago suburbs, put out a call for help. I responded, and before we knew it we were buddies — exchanging stories to critique, sharing tips and experiences. When I mentioned that I needed to contact Chicago-area schools, Gail put me in touch with her Cousin Marla, who is the librarian at the Pulaski Fine Arts Academy (yes, Marla has booked me there too). Marla could as easily have had a stellar career as a marketer or agent.

That’s how things happen in the Internet era, eh?

As I said, it isn’t possible to express how grateful I am to Gail and Marla — both of whom I have yet to meet in person. And they’re not the only strangers with whose kindness I have been blessed. There’s …

• Debbie Smart of Barnes & Noble. One day, as Debbie tells the story, she opened a box of books and To Love Mercy, my first novel, fell out. She read it, loved it and contacted my publisher. At that time, Debbie was assistant manager of the Arlington Heights IL Barnes & Noble, where I made my first-ever bookstore appearance. That was on a Friday night; the next morning was my second bookstore appearance — also at Debbie’s store. Debbie has written an article about my novel for the B&N employee newsletter; gotten it onto reading lists at Wheeling High; had me address a teachers meeting in her store; and has invited me back twice, the latest to her new store, Barnes & Noble-Westfield Hawthorne Mall in Vernon Hills IL, where she is, deservedly, manager. (That appearance is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 11, 2 p.m. Please come! Meet me! Meet Debbie!) Debbie Smart is one of the great unsung entrepreneurs of the book business; it is my good fortune that our paths crossed.

• Dan Lauber. Dan is a publisher in Oak Park with whom I did business when I published the FEDERAL PERSONNEL GUIDE, so not technically a stranger; but I really got to know Dan only after he read (and loved) To Love Mercy. Turns out Dan and I have been tracking each other’s footsteps all our lives though neither of us knew it. Dan knows everyone in Chicago. He got me an introduction to Timuel Black, the historian of Bronzeville, when all other efforts had failed; and has been helpful in dozens of other ways small and large. Plus he’s a White Sox fan and deeply knowledgeable about gelato.

• And so many others who have been so helpful along the way. Some are relatives, some old friends, some new friends, some strangers who’ve become friends. Ann Shlensky Hoenig. Judy Thornber. Barbara Koretz Katz. Bea Greene. Jack Foster. Joyce Rotman Brengle. Skye Blaine. Ellen Sandler. Mike and Marilyn Hollman. Jane Sharka. Jolyn Robichaux. Tory Cowles. Davida Berger Kristy. And undoubtedly others I’m forgetting, for which my sincere apologies. I can’t thank you enough, all of you.

Frank Joseph
www.tolovemercy.com

P.S. Please come see me in Chicago! Here are the public appearances –

• Wednesday, Nov. 7, 7 p.m. — Barnes & Noble, Village Crossing Center,  5405 W. Touhy Ave., Skokie IL

• Thursday,  Nov. 8,  7:30 p.m. — Schaumburg Central Library,  130 S. Roselle Rd.,  Schaumburg IL

• Friday, Nov. 9, 7 p.m. — Local author night, The Book Cellar, 4736 N. Lincoln Ave. (Lincoln Square), Chicago

• Saturday, Nov. 10, 2 p.m. — Homewood Library, 17917 Dixie Hwy., Homewood IL

• Sunday, Nov. 11, 2 p.m. — Barnes & Noble, Westfield Hawthorne Mall, Vernon Hills IL

• Tuesday, Nov. 13, 7:30 p.m. — Skokie Public Library, 5215 Oakton St., Skokie IL

• Thursday, Nov. 15, 7 p.m. — Arlington Heights Memorial Library, 500 N. Dunton Ave., Arlington Heights IL

The full appearance schedule, including the 11 schools, is posted at http://www.tolovemercy.com/frank_joseph_appearances.html