Periscope Depth

girls on film

Between Saturday afternoon and Wednesday evening, I took 363 photos with my new camera. I’ve never had any formal training in photography, so any progress I make comes from trial and error. My new camera – a Canon Powershot SD1100, for those of you just joining us – is a lot smarter than I am. [...]

get the cd from sam goody

If I released a music player that stored two hundred songs, took up about as much space as a fat paperback book and used a proprietary format other than .mp3 or .aiif or .wav, how well do you think it would sell? Even if I only charged $15? Do you think it would compete with [...]

you didn't know what you were looking for until you heard the voices in your ear

My school promotes students to black belt about once every ten months on average. We never do more than two or three at a time. At the last one, in March, I promoted to black belt, along with two other students. We were the last three students to join the program while it was still [...]

there ain't no need for ya

I have a real problem with pop songs that coast to success by sampling really, really good songs. The most recent example of this is M.I.A.’s breakout hit, “Paper Planes.” The backing track comes from The Clash’s classic ur-ragga of post-colonial blues, “Straight to Hell.” Take one good song, a catchy hook (“all I wanna [...]

put down the horse, pick up the jack

I finally saw Back By Popular Demand on Friday. I’d seen Jacey and Melissa H. do stunning musical improv in their half-hour format, but I didn’t know how it would transfer to the 75-minute slot. The answer: effortlessly. The time just flew by. Hell, they probably could have done two hours. John S. was hilarious [...]

it's all in the game

Thank you for your patience with those last two self-indulgent entries. Now we can have fun again. A few days ago, Leonard commented on an AVClub interview with Flight of the Conchords. Bret observed that “There aren’t many TV shows that can go on tour.” The ideas immediately began bubbling in the drug dens of [...]

hunger hurts, but starving works

“GYAARRGH,” I yelled. “How do they expect people to work under these conditions? It’s stupid! This is insane!” A slice of Upper Crust pizza appeared in my hand – spinach, mozzarella, feta, garlic, no sauce. I ate it in about two bites. Then I ate another, slowly. “Huh,” I mumbled through a full mouth. “Actually, [...]

pressure gonn' drop on you

Go out of your way for your friends and it usually turns out to be worth your while. On Saturday, I drove to Bukowski Tavern – not a huge jaunt from my house, but farther than I might normally drive – to catch Heather C. on a rare trip to Boston. She spotted me before [...]

as long as bridge joins stream and sky

Slumdog Millionaire: Scarred giants. Rivers of filth. Beautiful princesses. Smiling beggar kings. Opulent tombs. Fabulous prizes. Skyscrapers over slums. Murder. Betrayal. Ambition. Poverty. Hope. True love. If this sounds like the first chapter of The Princess Bride (or Peter Falk’s description of it, for those who’ve only seen the movie), that’s no accident. Slumdog Millionaire [...]

how young are you? how old am I? let's count the rings around my eyes

I don’t want to talk about it.* What I will talk about, instead, is Battlestar Galactica’s season 4.5 debut this past Friday. I will talk as circumspectly as possible, to avoid spoilers, but the ultra-sensitive may want to wait until Tuesday. BSG has always shined in characterization. This is an outstanding feat, given that BSG [...]

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  • Periscope Depth

    The website of John Perich, author of TOO CLOSE TO MISS and editor for Overthinking It. He's learning about writing, marketing, publishing and promotion, and he encourages you to learn along with him.

    perich@periscopedepth.com

  • TOO CLOSE TO MISS




    "... opens with a bang and never relents ..."
    "... from chapter one, I couldn't put the damn thing down ..."
    "... already looking forward to Perich's next book ..."

    Mara Cunningham knew that sleeping with a married man was a bad idea. But when her lover shows up in the hospital after his wife and son are murdered, the rumors about her turn dangerous. Now she's the prime suspect in a double homicide, and the real killers will stop at nothing to silence her ...

    Buy the book that readers are calling "a great, suspenseful thriller" at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other online retailers.



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