The Longest Walk

There used to be this dirt road in Spotsylvania County called County Road 715. Years ago this old road ran straight by our house and led to the edge of a paved blacktop where the school bus would pick up me and my brothers, and my cousins who lived on Route 715.
Back then it seemed like it was a long walk to the bus stop in the early mornings, but actually it was only about a six-minute walk. I remember one particular morning walking to the bus stop and I was practicing what I was going to say to this girl that I really liked in my class and had written a ‘Do You Like Me?’ note to the previous night. She sat one row away from me in class and I always liked the way she would run and giggle and say “You can’t catch me!” when we had recess outside. Although I’d carefully written the note and repeatedly rehearsed my lines when I was going to hand it to her, I fell way short of being a romantic Romeo as I got painfully nervous and talked myself out of giving her the note and I never uttered one single word to her that whole entire day at school.
When the bus dropped us off after school that day it was my longest walk ever. I still had that stupid note folded in my pocket, which I’d carried around all day at school. As my brothers and cousins got off the bus laughing and talking about their day at school and their plans for the rest of the evening, I just hung my head down and kicked at the rocks and mounds of dirt in the road as if I was kicking myself in the butt for being so scared, stupid and shy.
About halfway down the road I got tired of having that stupid note in my pocket so I took it out, crumbled it up and tossed in the bushes along the dirt road. It’s the year 2015 now and it’s been nearly 44 years since the night I wrote that ‘Do You Like Me?’ note. Ironically, the young girl who captured my heart back at Robert E. Lee Elementary School is now one of my friends on Facebook (but she doesn’t know that I had a crush on her though).
And, by the way, the old dirt road, County Road 715, that I grew up on in Spotsylvania, well today, it’s a paved road and it was renamed Camp Town Road quite a few years ago. – Randolph Randy Camp
More at http://www.goodreads.com/randolphcamp

Unexpected Gifts

Before a lively roundtable book talk with New York high school students, I was honored and presented with a nice ‘Thank You’ plaque and an elegant dime-bracelet, which was a replica of the bracelet that’s a crucial part of the plot in my novel ’29 Dimes: A Love Story’, in which the students read as a class assignment and superbly acted out key scenes (from the novel) on stage in the auditorium.
I don’t normally blog about the casual ‘thank you’ gifts that I get from doing book talks but these recent gifts were just too remarkable for me not to share them with you. Yes indeed, needless to say, I was just blown away when I saw the beautiful plaque and the shiny bracelet. – Randolph Randy Camp
More at http://www.goodreads.com/randolphcamp

Page To Stage: 29 Dimes

On Thursday, February 26th, I was invited to East High School (NY) for a ‘Meet-the-Author/ Book Talk’ event and I was blown away by the special surprises in which the students and their teacher Mr. Wagner had planned.
The students did a great job in portraying the characters from two of my novels, ‘Wet Matches’ and ’29 Dimes’, as they acted out several key scenes from the two stories. When I first arrived at the school, I was expecting the typical Book Talk discussion which would normally take place in a large classroom, but an escort greeted me at the school entrance and informed me that we would be going straight to the auditorium first. And when I saw the colorful stage filled with the kids dressed in character and the set decorations, I was totally caught off guard. It was a wonderful surprise.
And not only was I treated to a fantastic stage performance by the students, I was also honored and presented with a nice ‘Thank You’ plaque and an elegant dime-bracelet, which was a replica of the bracelet that’s a crucial part of the plot in the ’29 Dimes’ love story.
There’s no greater compliment to a writer than seeing others take his or her characters and bring them to life. The students at East High School definitely made me feel ten feet tall on Thursday, but the true beauty of the whole event was seeing those energetic students express themselves and show off their natural talents in acting, singing, sound effects and in set design. – Randolph Randy Camp
More at http://www.goodreads.com/randolphcamp

No Higher Compliment

Author Tops Off Black History Month at East

The students from Mr. Wagner's Certified Nursing Assistant class paid homage to Buffalo's author, Randy Camp on Thursday, February 26, 2015. Mr. Camp was treated to two skits by the students that represented scenes from the two novels that the students recently read in class. The students also awarded Mr. Camp their Annual Distinguish Helper Award for his direct influence on their lives.

The first book the students read was "Wet Matches", a novel that metaphorically deals with the emotional impact that segregation of schools had on Mr. Camp growing up in the South. This novel is packed with empathy as race is superimposed on the journey of five lost teens who are coping with self-identity confusion, and their medical diagnoses of HIV. The second novel the students read, Mr. Camp's most recent work;"29 Dimes: A Love Story", is a very engaging story of a group of close teens, and their last summer before high school graduation. The story deeply explores teenage relationship issues with excellent characters development.

The C.N.A students easily related to the multiple issues that were addressed in this swiftly moving love story where the hero is a special needs high school boy who overcomes multiple obstacles to become the star of the story by giving his life for another. The students spent 20 minutes of each class period reading out loud and then were engaged in  daily writing assignments that dealt with the topic that was addressed in the book for that day. Mr. Camp's response to the event was "...there's no higher compliment for a writer than to see his characters come to life."

After the skits, Mr. Camp led the students in a round table discussion about not only the story, but the process, frustration, and challenges involved in publishing his books.

More at http://www.goodreads.com/randolphcamp  

...Then The Rain: Silver Screen Dreams

One of the things that I truly enjoy about being a writer is being invited to a Meet-the-Author Book Talk with high school students. At a recent book talk session, the students and I got into a very lively discussion about the movie version of my novel and who would be the perfect person to play Viki, the main character and popstar in ‘…Then The Rain’, and who could play the role of Pastor Wright, the wicked preacher in this rock n’ roll thriller.
The class was split between Morgan Freeman or either Tommy Lee Jones taking the role of Pastor Wright. And although Beyoncé had a handful of supporters, it was a toss up between Taylor Swift or Katy Perry in the lead role of pop sensation Viki Powers.
This particular classroom discussion was different than any others I’d participated in. I never had so much fun during a book talk, and when the session was over I really felt as though Taylor, Katy, Morgan, Tommy Lee and myself had actually been sitting in a meeting together discussing their movie roles in ‘…Then The Rain.’ It’s amazing where these classroom discussions can lead us to sometimes. – Randy Camp
Learn more at http://www.goodreads.com/randolphcamp

Wavelengths

Everything we do has an impact or an influence on someone else, whether we like it or not. As I journey through life, I hope that my wavelengths create more of a positive ripple effect than a negative one. No, I’m certainly not perfect and I’ve made plenty of mistakes. Although I’m older now, I still fall way short of perfection but I try to give my best shot at helping and influencing others.
It’s the beginning of a new year now, and yesterday, as the kids went back to school after their long Holiday break, I was blown away by a ripple effect that was set in motion with wavelengths that started several months ago. It all began back in September when one of my neighbors had asked me to speak to her 16 year old daughter who was seriously considering dropping out of high school. Well, yesterday, this young lady knocked on my door and was so excited to tell me that not only was she getting A’s and B’s in all of her classes but she also had talked her mother into purchasing all of my books, in which she read all of them during the Holiday break. And with the biggest and proudest smile on her face, she went on to say that her teacher has also agreed to let her do an oral book report on one of my novels for extra credit. Needless to say, this young lady certainly made my day and I was just as proud of her as she was.
Yes indeed, our wavelengths definitely have an impact on others. I can only hope that during my lifetime I’ve helped more people than I’ve hurt. As I lay my head down at night, I want to sleep peacefully, knowing that my wavelengths had a positive ripple effect on someone. – Randolph Randy Camp
More at http://www.goodreads.com/randolphcamp

No Easy Roads

Looking back on the past year it really allowed me to see a deeper part of myself. When you really want something you'd be surprise to find out the sacrifices you're willing to make to achieve that particular goal. As a non-traditional college student (at age 53) and an Air Force Veteran, my last few semesters were really rough, as I dealt with financial hardships among other personal things. But, I'm determined to continue on and persevere in the new year ahead.
Click the LINK below to read and hear WBFO Reporter Eileen Buckley's full report on my recent struggles as an older college student and military Veteran. - Randolph Randy Camp
http://news.wbfo.org/post/local-veteran-struggles-re-educate-himself