My lovely grandmother, perfectly composed as always, with Katie

Throughout my life, from one decade to the next, I’ve always been so fortunate to have by my side either a grandparent or someone much older than me- a mentor, guide, confidante, and friend offering the perspective and wisdom that only comes with age.

There’s something so healing about being in the company of an elder–someone who has seen life and understands all its challenges and rewards, a subject I wrote about a few days ago in a Blog about my remarkable friend Bud.

Nana Adored My Dog

And the one person who started it all for me is my maternal grandmother, Essie, known in our family as Nana.

There was nothing old-fashioned about this energetic dynamo–who was physically robust, articulate, and up to date on everything, including movies, music, and fashion. Charismatic and fun to be with, she tended to me and my two sisters with incredible devotion–taking care of us together with my Mom, picking us up at school, helping us with our homework, cooking and baking (her signature crumb cake with yellow raisens being one of my favorites), carting me to piano lessons, sunday school, you name it.

My Favorite Picture of Us At My First Book Launch

Her arrival at our house was always cause for great excitement. As I write in my upcoming book:

I became jubilant whenever I saw her car pulling up into our driveway, her yellow tortoise-shell purse catching the light.

Sometimes we’d sit at the kitchen table, laughing for hours as Nana quizzed me on American history, afterwards treating me to her fantastic crumb cake or signature Cream of Wheat.

She also played the piano—usually “The Skating Song,” a popular tune in the silent movie days. But mostly, she’d sit on the bench next to me, encouraging my efforts at the keyboard, (and years later, attending all my piano recitals.)

When I was hospitalized in my 20’s for a stomach ailment, there she was, nursing me back to health; a few years later, when my first book was published, she was next to me at Barnes & Noble, smartly dressed, as I signed copies.

And five years after that, we marketed Nana’s shortbread meringue cookies, dubbed “Essie’s Crumby Dessert Squares…The CrumbiestYou Ever Had.” Katharine Hepburn, Peter Jennings, Nancy Reagan, Calvin Klein, and Paul Newman all raved about them, giving her endorsements. They were sold at Bloomingdale’s and led to such newspaper headlines as: “Top Stars Clamoring for More Of Buffalo Grandma’s Cookies.” And: “Cookies Turning A Grandmother Into Rising Star.” There was Nana being interviewed on television and signing autographs! (Just click on the picture that says “Cookie Maker To The Stars” to see my grandmother’s famous fans!)

In short, Nana was remarkable in every way—and with me, every step of the way. Like any great grandparent–she was a protective guide, loving us unconditionally and

teaching us about what was right and what was wrong–how to behave, and what to be careful about.

I’m sure you’ve had a grandparent who you were especially close to, who influenced your life profoundly, and whom you miss.

Years after I’d left home and moved to New York, when my grandmother was in her final years and ailing, she was still no less interested or central in my life. And she would always send her fond regards to another great matriarch I’d met, my down-the-hall neighbor, Pearl, who became, in a sense, my co-grandmother. Pearl is the one of the key stars of my book, an octogenarian who we all nicknamed Granny.

In fact, when Family Circle magazine wrote about Pearl’s influence on all the main characters in the book–they titled it “Granny Down The Hall.”  And  like Nana, Pearl was always a source of practical advice, laughter, loving support and fun.

At The Piano, Having One of my grandmother's famous cookies!

Family Fun: My Mom, Katie, my sister Debby, and Nana

As I’m writing this, I can feel the tears beginning. Why? Because I would give anything–anything at all–to have both my grandmother and Pearl at my side in September at the Katie Up And Down The Hall launch party and booksigning. After all, it’s thanks to them that I have a story to tell, coloring it with all their heart and lessons learned.

I can’t believe it’s been 20 years since Nana died,  and six since I lost Pearl, because it seems like just yesterday we were all laughing on the phone, playing with Katie, having dinner together, our little family circle complete.

In short, Nana and Pearl were  the grandmothers of my dreams….and I miss them both more than I can say.

And so, on this day when I’m thinking about these two great women (and about my fantastic Uncle Jack who, at age 94, sadly passed away today, another incredibly wise and loving friend)–tell me about the grandmother, grandfather, or older mentor of your dreams. How did they enrich your life and what are your favorite memories? .

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Lucy and Stanley Out For A Walk In Battery Park City

My five-month-old puppy, Lucy, adores her down-the-hall boyfriend Stanley, though she isn’t content just to play with dogs, large or small. She’s branching out!

She’s especially fond of a magnificent Belgian Quarter horse named Lee, one of Battery Park City’s police mounts who patrols the Esplanade along the Hudson. Lee’s boss is Sean, the mounted policeman who appears in my upcoming book.

Katie adored Sean and his horse–and would stop in her tracks whenever she heard him coming, as I explain in the book:

Once out on the Esplanade, she walked briskly along the water’s edge, sniffing under every bench, scouting for food, and on hot summer days, searching for the perfect shady spot under an oak tree for a long nap.

At other times, Katie’s ears pricked up when she heard the sound of hoofs hitting the pavement. That was the signal that our neighborhood’s mounted policeman, Sean, was out on patrol, sitting high up on his magnificent Belgian Quarter horse, Walter.

Walter, Sean told me, had been raised on a farm with dogs, so anytime we passed, the horse would stop and scoop down his head and affectionately rub noses with Katie, his wide nostrils quivering with pleasure.

Katie, in turn, would lick his face. Sometimes, I’d hoist Katie up to him–and she’d playfully swat him in the wide space between his eyes. The picture of this huge horse nuzzling a pint-sized spaniel was endearing beyond belief, heartwarming to all who saw it. Then Walter trotted away in one direction, Katie in the other.

So it’s only fitting that Lucy has inherited Sean’s new mount Lee as her own. A (motion) picture is truly worth a thousand words! Take a look:

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There are times in life when the bottom falls out –and absolutely everything goes wrong.

Unexpectedly, fate throws us a curve ball–and our safe and settled existence, as we had known it, falls apart.

We may sink into despair or depression; or get angry and lash out at others. Some fall into addiction. Many feel they’ve been victimized, that their luck has run out, and that their lives are over. Some may even contemplate suicide. (And 30,000 people do commit suicide in the U.S. every year.)

In my own life, I’ve been grateful to experience many peaks. But there have been some valleys too–times of extreme emotional pain when I’ve known the sting of rejection, reversals of fortune, disappointments in relationships, and health challenges too.

It’s at times like these that we all need a breakthrough–which is exactly what we’re going to get beginning this Tuesday, when NBC debuts a six-part reality series titled BREAKTHROUGH WITH TONY ROBBINS. I’ve seen a preview disc of the show and I can tell you that it is riveting.

As the world’s greatest peak performance coach, Tony has, over three decades, worked with three million people in 80 countries (including heads of state, professional athletes, corporate executives, film stars, and royalty). But for those who haven’t attended his seminars, read his books, listened to his tapes, or watched his videos, at last, he’s finally bringing his magic to television.

I can tell you that I’ve known Tony personally for many years–and have seen him in action at his signature seminars–Unleash The Power Within, Date With Destiny, and Life Mastery–and there are few people in this world who can give people the practical tools to transform misery to joy, the follow through to turn apathy to resourcefulness. But he can do it.

In this show, you’re going to meet people who have experienced deep pain and loss, those who are desperate for a new beginning, many of whom who have lost hope. This isn’t entertainment. Anyone with a problem is going to be inspired by the people Tony meets on this journey, and you’re going to apply the lessons learned to your own life.

Much of Breakthrough With Tony Robbins was filmed in Fiji

Tony will show us how to turn trauma around, finding inner strength where we didn’t think we had it. He’ll demonstrate that there’s always something we value greater than our pain. He’ll give us the faith and confidence to prevail over a disability, restoring emotional fitness and giving us the compelling future we all deserve.

A few months ago, I wrote here about a great lesson that I learned from Tony, one that is intimately connected to the theme of my new book.  As we travel through life, much as we want things to be safe and predictable, they rarely are. I sometimes wonder why things unfold in life exactly as they do. Can what happens to us be controlled and planned, or is much of it mere accident, fate, destiny–or perhaps another greater force at work as well?

In my own life, especially with Katie Up and Down The Hall being soon published,  I often reflect on why I became so intensely close to my neighbors down the hall.

What power was there in that red-carpeted 120-foot hallway that took me to places I never imagined, much like a magic carpet.

Do you ever play this game: “If I hadn’t just accidentally found myself in that elevator (or in that classroom, gym class, subway car, or party) at that exact moment in time, how would my entire life have been different? Maybe I never would have met my mate, or a key business connection, or a lifelong friend. Right!

Sometimes I just can’t believe the coincidence, things that happen at exactly the right moment. Sure this seems accidental–but as I’ve learned from Tony Robbins, what happens to us is greatly a product of what he has insightfully described as THE POWER OF PROXIMITY.

Simply put, it’s so often the people in our physical orbits–those in closest proximity–who will become the people most important to us. When you’re around someone in your environment, day after day, you notice their insight, humor, and unique talents–and the needs in them that call out to you for fulfillment. When we look to each other for companionship, love, and connection–we often get what we need.

That’s one key reason why my dog Katie and I became so close to our octogenarian friend, Pearl, and her husband Arthur, and the little boy Ryan, and his Dad, John. Katie and I needed connection–and we so fortuitously found it–just down the hall.

So as Tony often says to seminar participants: “Who, in your environment is nearby? Who’s literally in your field of vision? Who do you keep bumping into, over and over again?”

In this way, as he wisely concludes: “For most of us, proximity is the messenger of fate.”

I can tell you that it’s this principle that changed my life, and the life of my dog forever–and I bet it’s changing yours as well.

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For generations, moviegoers have been seduced into buying tickets for upcoming attractions by watching those all-important movie trailers, alluring previews that generate the ‘impulse buy,’ pulling you back into the theater for more. 

These 30-second trailers are elaborately produced, intended to incite in the viewer a visceral reaction. I think of them as Hors d’oeuvres, whetting your appetite for the main course. In fact, I often make my decisions about what movies I see based upon trailers, which ideally give you the flavor and texture of the story without giving the plot away.

While movie producers have banked on the power of trailers for years, it’s only in

History Precedes Book Evolution of Book Trailers

the last few years that the book industry is finally catching up, borrowing the concept by producing so-called “book trailers”– video advertisements for new releases that can be acted out using flash videos, animation, or simple still photos set to music (with optional narration), designed to build advance interest and sales.

It’s hard to believe that the first book trailer wasn’t produced until 2003! And it wasn’t until 2005 when user-generated online video upload became more popular that such trailers become a common reality on sites like MySpace, YouTube and iFilm. The cost of such trailers range from the bare bones low-end of $1500 to $15,000 and up toward $100,000 depending on productions values. But such trailers turn out to be invaluable as an author can use them on social networking sites, in their press kits, in presentations to book chains, on commercial sites selling books, at Book Expo America, and at book readings.

The Final Book Jacket Design

When I learned all this about a year ago, my goal was creating a book trailer of my own. After all, KATIE UP AND DOWN THE HALL is an emotional, highly-visual story that takes place along the Hudson River–with a very photogenic dog (Katie), an adorable little boy (Ryan), and a charismatic matriarach (Pearl), so I envisioned a book trailer that could capture the color and mood of the story.

Glenn, Ryan, Pearl, and Katie

But I didn’t get the idea of producing such a trailer until the great book coach, Ann McIndoo, suggested that I consult with with the renowned book marketing authority  John Kremer, who wrote a great book titled, 1001 Ways To Market Your Book. “If there’s one thing you should do, it’s build an Internet audience through social networking sites, one key tool to doing it being a book trailer.”

John defined the most effective book trailers as “poems with music,” consisting of three major elements–an inspiring message (the script), beautiful images (in my case, a montage of photographs that illustrate our family story), and atmospheric background music that matches the mood of the story. As an example of one trailer that got 40 million views, he sent me to thedashmovie.com.

So I set to work: The first thing I did was write a 4-minute script that would capture the essence of the story in an emotional way.  I started with the line: “Some of the best things that happen in life are purely accidental…an intuition can take you almost anywhere–even to a beautiful friendship when you least expect it. That’s what happened to me.” And then I transitioned to setting the scene by writing: “There’s a little town built on water with a never-ending parade of sailboats, ferries, and cruise ships.
Into this world arrived a homely little puppy with skinny legs and gigantic ears.”

Pitiful As A Puppy

That, of course, is the star of the book, Katie. And on it went.

Next, I combed through 20 of my scrapbooks, each identified by theme, choosing the most expressive pictures I could find. I eventually wound up with 300 “finalists,” that told the entire story of our 16 years together. From this pool of photos, I eventually narrowed it down to 65 pictures to tell the story of KATIE.

Finally, I needed to find background music that would match the mood of the story–and hopefully evoke in viewers an emotional reaction. One night, I found a great movie on cable titled “My Dog Skip,” and as soon as I heard the film score, I knew it was perfect for my story.

Photo Perfect Brandon Williams

And now, with all three elements chosen, I needed a video and sound editor to put it all together. It’s fitting that since my book is all about building a family from neighbors–I was able to build my book trailer the same way! One of my best friends is the brilliant Broadway and TV actor, comic, voice-over artist, and screenwriter Brandon Williams, who lives fifteen floors above me with his wife Sheila and their two young sons. Brandon has the most mellifluous voice–almost haunting in its expressiveness–and I felt he was the perfect person to record the trailer voice-over. As if all his other talents weren’t sufficient, Brandon, I quickly discovered, is also a skilled video editor. Brandon arranged the photos in the right order, matching the meaning of the script to the image, creatively panning and zooming on pictures, coordinating the final look of the trailer.

There was only one thing missing–a sound editor to record the voice-over and edit the film score to match the flow and meaning of the words. I lucked out knowing Diego Costa,

Diego Costa

a skilled musician and audio editor, who again, lives right in my building, 20 floors above me with his wife Daniela and their two young sons.  Don’t I have great neighbors?!

Diego and Brandon Recording Katie Book Trailer in my Dining Room

So rather than going into a recording studio or hiring a producer or video editor, we produced my book trailer right at home in my dining room! There we sat, and in just 3 hours, we recorded the script, edited the music, and then Brandon, over a period of just a few days, put the pieces all together. Taking the pictures of the session was Brandon’s talented wife, Sheila of Sheila Williams Photography.

The final result speaks for itself. Just click and see. I have to tell you that I’ve screened this trailer for many people–kids, seniors, businessmen, dog lovers, and those not even interested in dogs–and the reaction has been startling. Almost everybody who sees it cries! Why? I think it’s because each of us has a child, or a grandmother, or a best friend, or a dog in our lives who we’ve bonded with deeply–and who we’ve ultimately lost, due to the inevitability of death or separation.

Well, there you have the story of my book trailer. I recently found the trailer posted on the Barnes & Noble web site, pictured here. It makes me feel great to share the story of our lives with families and dog lovers everywhere. And if you come to the Barnes & Noble bookreading on September 16th, we’re going to have a special screening of the trailer, the evening hosted New York legendary journalist Liz Smith.

In the meantime, I hope you’ll watch the trailer–and let me know what you think of it.

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