I only today heard that Don Everly had passed at age 84. An era has passed. A beautiful voice is gone. I recalled a passage I wrote in my novel One Life or The Lives of Chester Knowles where, for reasons unknown to myself, I talk about my love for the Everlys…. But Marsha sat motionless, looking out the window at the god-awful 405 freeway. … Continue reading The Everlys
Willie Morton, one of the characters in my One Life and The Phantom Speaks books, always says: “Just keep on playin’ that country music”. I keep saying the same thing myself. It’s funny how you learn from your characters. In any case, to “keep on playin that country music” is sound advice, and I try to follow it. So…….. Now, if you want to read … Continue reading Keep On Playin’ That Country Music and Try These Books On For Size
Maybe it wasn’t the most clever idea, but I self-recorded soundtrack albums to accompany my novels. I noticed that my first novel, Up in the Bronx mentioned several Ellington numbers, so I recorded my own modest attempts. Following a passage where the protagonist (a thinly veiled version of myself?) is writing a song called Sweet Dreams and Happiness, I recorded that one too. Eventually, I recorded … Continue reading One Life
See below, if you dare, the album notes for my CD titled Chester’s Songs, which goes along with my novel One Life or the Lives of Chester Knowles. To quote Mel Allen again: “How ’bout that?” A book and a CD combo. The full recording is available on Sound Cloud (for free), or on CD Baby (99 cents). If you want a real, physical CD … Continue reading Soundtracked
This month’s Bumbastories Weekend Magazine returns to haunt delight us once again with the following features and articles. An As I Sat on the Bus Poem A Book Review of Kurt Vonnegut’s Jailbird A Sports Report, with words of wisdom about the Los Angeles Clippers An unauthorized Advertisement ******************************** AS I SAT ON THE BUS As I sat on the bus I wrote. The Muse … Continue reading Bumbastories Weekend Magazine
There’s good news and then there’s bad news…. And then there’s good news again. Say whatt? The good news is that my second novel One Life or The Lives of Chester Knowles is available as an ebook on Amazon Kindle for just $0.99! The bad news is that its sequel, The Phantom Speaks, is not available as an ebook. Sorry, you’ll have to read that … Continue reading Good News, Bad News, Good News Again
My thanks to G.A. Miller who posted my recording of Ellington’s It Don’t Mean a Thing if It Ain’t Got That Swing, which is the opening song of the CD companion piece to my novel One Life or The Lives of Chester Knowles. Chester – or is it the Phantom? I’m not sure myself – in one of his more philosophical rants, refers to the … Continue reading It Don’t Mean A Thing
There Been Some Lonely Times is a song that I wrote a number of years ago while I was writing the One Life or The Lives of Chester Knowles novel. Somehow the song found its way directly into the book (page 162). Click on the link below to hear the song. https://soundcloud.com/songplayer/there-been-some-lonelytimes The song is included in my Chester’s Songs CD, which I am releasing … Continue reading Lonely Times
The “thoroughly entertaining” sequel to Stephen Baum’s One Life or The Lives of Chester Knowles novel, The Phantom Speaks is out! It’s available on Amazon and on a bunch of other online outlets, and it is also available through this site. See Bumba Books. I’m trying to get it out as an ebook, but I’m experiencing difficulties with the formatting due to all the illustrations, … Continue reading More phantom stuff
It’s out, folks!!! Bumbastories is proud to announce the second printing of Stephen Baum’s second novel One Life or The Lives of Chester Knowles . It’s available through Amazon and the other book sellers. The book is also available right here. Just click on the book cover. Thanking you for your support and hoping you enjoy the book! Continue reading One Life or The Lives of Chester Knowles
Every Day Another Story 