Twelve year-old Jet tells anyone who will listen that they've got to face life's frustrations. His older brother violently disagrees. His father firmly believes that chaos breeds chaos and order begets order, and is living disproof of the theorem. Meanwhile his mother is in the throes of the fourteenth of what will ultimately be seventeen religious sects she will belong to, fervently rehearsing the art of speaking in tongues in front of the mirror.
Life is eccentrically calm until Jet launches a series of Zen-like break-ins. Only the display materials are stolen from Cordin's Jewelers. The grocery bags are missing from the Food House. The Penultimate National Bank opens with no deposit slips. By the time the media, particularly the Weekly World Scene, grab hold of it the town is in an uproar. Then the Quite Reverend John Joseph Matthew Paul III pitches his orange and blue striped tent in the parking lot of the now-closed Two Guys store and holds a revival meeting which changes everyone's life. Including his own.
About the Author
Mad Dog, whose birth certificate says Barry Gottlieb, has been writing a weekly humor column, "Doing It Doggy Style", since 1995. It's appeared in newspapers across the country including the San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News, Boston Phoenix, and San Francisco Examiner as well as being heard on the Pacifica Radio Network. His popular website features many of his columns as well as a series of games including the Plot-o-matic, the fun way to create a movie plot.
"Skywriting at Night" is his first novel. The autobiography he co-wrote of Dr. Isaiah "Ike" McKinnon, the former chief of police of Detroit, will be published in the fall of 2000 by Sleeping Bear Press of Chelsea, Michigan. The first compilation of his columns will be out about the same time. Honors include winning the Virginia Governor's Screenwriter's Competition for his original screenplay, "Velveeta and the '63 Fleetwood Stigmata", a Silver Telly and Bronze CINDY award for a video he wrote, and a finalist certificate in the Clio awards.
Over the years he's used his creativity in a wide range of areas. He's written advertising, spent four years as a radio air personality, sold candles on the streets of New York City, created and marketed a series of novelty gift items including Earl the Dead Cat and the Silent Vigil Foam Rubber Wind Chimes, produced records, was a cable show host, voice-over talent and even acted in TV commercials. How well is still up for debate.
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