This post is about a new up and coming author known as Paul Schumacher. On October 22nd, his new book, Little Red Wolf, will be out in stores and is destined to be number one on the New York Times best seller list.
The story is a masterfully interwoven amalgamation of several different folk tales such as Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and Rapunzel.
As Paul puts it, “Little Red Wolf is a fairy tale reimagining in which many of the female characters of these tales are empowered with modern ideals. Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf team up with Goldilocks, to rescue Rapunzel from her tower. Along the way they meet Prince Charming and find out he is sort of a useless jerk... but he IS royalty.”
When I get this book, what I really want to see is how Little Red Riding Hood and The Big Bad Wolf join forces. I find it very interesting in fiction whenever opposing characters band together for a common goal; however we see it more and more these days. Will Red Riding Hood and The Big Bad Wolf become friends afterward? Now that would be amazing! Maybe all the characters will share an epic adventure and through these extreme circumstances, they forge a bond of trust and camaraderie! I’m already excited, and I can’t wait to read it! I just hope I can get it in Korea, and if not, there’s always online ordering.
But more than an amazing writer, Paul is also a childhood friend of mine.
We met many years ago in group therapy. I was 10 years old, and he was 11. We both grew up in middle class families, in different schools, in middle class America. We didn’t have abusive parents, problems with gangs, or violence. But still, we had it rough.
In schools all over the world, there are predators, and there is prey. We were the prey. I was targeted by bullies due to being overweight (that’s as good a reason as any) and Paul? Well, I never understood why they targeted him, exactly. It almost seemed like they just picked his name out of a hat. But bullies never need a good reason to pick on people, just a desire to abuse power.
I remember he told me about a group of bullies he knew back in high school. One day, Paul was sitting at a table having lunch with about eight of his friends when three stooges dropped by and declared they wanted to kick his ass. Not one second later, all eight of his friends stood up, and glared angrily at the three. Every one of them was prepared to form an impenetrable wall between those goons and Paul. He felt like he wanted to give those guys a big hug.
When he told me that story, I wished to God I was right there with him. Those three punks would have had to go through me first, and I wouldn’t have hesitated to fight them tooth and nail.
We were good friends for about five years, and then we just kind of drifted apart. It happens. And then one day, about 12 years later, I was sitting in my apartment on a November afternoon in Japan thinking about my old friend and what had become of him. And so, I decided I wanted a conversation.
I didn’t have his email; I didn’t know about facebook at the time, so I didn’t think to look for him there, and I didn’t even know where he lived anymore. All I had to go on was his old phone number which I had memorized when I was a kid. It was possible that his parents had moved away or changed their phone number, but I had nothing to lose so I gave it a try.
As luck would have it, not only was it the right phone number, but he was actually there when I called! We talked, and I had learned that he served in the army for several years, and was even stationed in Korea for two years. For as long as I live, I’ll always be happy that I picked up the phone and called him out of the blue. I was amazed to learn what he had done with his life.
And now he’s on the verge of becoming a bestselling novelist! It makes me think about those three stooges he faced down back in high school. Massive success is the best revenge!
I’d like to end this post with a great quote from the man himself:
“I want people to think about their dreams before they leap head first after them. Our dreams are important, but we have been deluded to think they are right in front of us for the taking. Our dreams require hard work, dedication, sacrifice, and a little luck to achieve, but with good friends and good networking skills, we can achieve them.”
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