June’s First Friday brings three authors to OTTO’s. Join us as we host Spero Lappas, Melinda Wentzel, and Paul Rothfuss,
who will be signing their books and sharing their stories between 6-8 on June 1st.
Many of us are familiar with our very own Melinda Wentzel, aka Planet Mom. Her humorous columns have brightened the pages of the Webb Weekly and other publications.
The seeds of her book, Deliverance: A Survival Guide to Parenting Twins, were planted when she and her husband found out that they were to be blessed with TWINS! To paraphrase from the book, when they arrived home with their bundles of joy, the very notion of “lucidity” would not come to call for a very long time. Yet during that whirlwind period of bliss coupled with insanity, she had the foresight to jot down their hard-earned lessons, and the result is this eminently helpful and straight up hilarious recounting of parenting at ground zero x 2.
Planet Mom: It's where she lives...at the corner of Irreverence and Oversharing.
Some could say that Spero Lappas had already lived an incredible life, one filled with joys and successes. Born into an immigrant family of modest means, he attained a life that many would envy. He was a renowned and successful defense attorney, yet at the pinnacle of his career, he came to the realization that despite the many rewards of his profession, he was not living an authentic life filled with passion. On a trip to a land steeped with the knowledge of the ancients, the thoughts, and feelings that had been eddying for a while led to the beginnings of his personal renaissance.
He decided to pursue an old dream, to take the steps that could lead to that life of truth and passion. In his book, Conquer Life’s Frontiers: A Philosophy of Individual Fulfillment, he shares the story that had led him to a new life of personal satisfaction and happiness. And more importantly, for we dreamers, we with a longing for something more, he shares the path and the proven wisdom and steps that can lead to your own renaissance. “Is today a good day to change your world?”
“Of course.
“We have two lives, and the second one begins when we realize that we have only one.” Confucius
Author Paul H. D. Rothfuss returns to his hometown on June 1 to sign his new book Alias Emperor Rodgers: A Majestic Memoir by Baltimore's Emperor of Insanity in the Crazy Daze of 60's Top 40 Radio at Otto Bookstore from 6-8 pm. in downtown Williamsport. Rothfuss chronicles his rise and conquest of radio’s heyday in this tome.
Born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Rothfuss got his start in his backyard at seventeen years old with an AM radio station working for $.25 an hour. From there, he rose up through the ranks as a D. J. His career piggybacked the ascension of rock and roll in the United States which finally led Rothfuss to helming the number one radio show in Baltimore, Maryland. It was there that he was anointed Emperor Rodgers where he presided over record hops and the blossoming of Top 40 radio.
Alias Emperor Rodgers is a history of radio filled with fun and frivolity, just as AM radio was in the 60’s and 70’s. Promotion was a big part of the business of AM radio and Emperor Rodgers was a willing participant in the high jinks. At one point, he mounted an elephant in the name of ratings and rode it through Baltimore in freezing temperatures.
Rothfuss’ tome also touches on the business of radio and how he evolved into the owner of over fifty radio stations in thirty markets. Before corporations dominated the radio landscape, Rothfuss’ entrepreneurial trajectory created the business plan for radio ownership. From upstate New York to Augusta, Georgia, he built his own radio empire.
