SHADOE STEELE................The Real Deal................One of the biggest things you need in promoting a book is, well promotions. And "A Radio Story's" promotional campaign was kicked off on WKRZ FM, 98.5FM's "Saturday Night Live At the Oldies" on July 2nd, 2005. The show, a broadcast institution in this region and even around the country provided me with a forum, as a writer to tell the story of the book. Here is the transcript of that interview heard on Shadoe Steele's program. SHADOE STEELE INTERVIEW OPEN SEGMENT WITH “YONKI TIME” BY TOM VERLANE. 1. I’M HERE WITH DAVID YONKI, DAVID WROTE THE JUST RECENTLY RELEASED BOOK “A RADIO STORY” SUBTITLED “WE WISH YOU WELL IN YOUR FUTURE ENDEAVORS”, DAVID, WAS IT YOUR LIFE’S AMBITION TO ALWAYS WRITE A BOOK. ANSWER: ACTUALLY, SHADOE, WRITING HAS BEEN IN MY VEINS FOR A VERY LONG TIME. MY FIRST JOB WAS FOR THE OLD SUNDAY DISPATCH IN PITTSTON AT THE AGE OF 15. I’VE ALWAYS WRITTEN. WHETHER IT WAS A STORY FOR THE PAPER, OR FOR WORK, I USED TO WRITE A LOT OF MY OWN COMMERCIALS WHEN I WORKED IN RADIO SALES. BUT AS FAR AS WRITING A BOOK, THAT’S SOMETHING THAT I TRIED TO DO IN THE PAST BUT COULD NOT. I STARTED, GOT A FEW PAGES IN AND THEN GAVE UP. IT WAS A WEDDING OF HAPPENSTANCE AND TECHNOLOGY THAT GOT THE BOOK WRITTEN. I WAS INJURED IN AN AUTO ACCIDENT IN 1999 AND HAD TO GIVE UP BROADCAST SALES. AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME, I GOT A HOME COMPUTER. AT NIGHT, WHEN I WAS IN PAIN, I’D GET UP AND START TYPING STORIES OF MY DAYS IN BROADCASTING. A YEAR WENT BY AND I FOUND THAST I HAD OVER 35 WORD DOCUMENTS. I LOOKED AT THEM AND SAID TO MYSELF “IF I COULD FIND A COMMON THREAD HERE, I HAVE A NOVEL.” AND THAT’S HOW I WROTE THE BOOK. 2. THE TITLE, “A RADIO STORY” IMPLIES THAT IT IS SET IN THE CONFINES OF THE RADIO INDUSTRY, BUT IT’S MUCH MORE THAN THAT, CORRECT, DAVID? ANSWER: IT IS A NOVEL SET IN FAMILIAR PLACES ABOUT AN ORDINARY GUY (WHO HAPPENS TO BE EMPLOYED AS A RADIO SALES REP) WHO FACES MORAL DILEMMAS CAUSED BY THE DECISIONS HE MAKES IN HIS LIFE. EVERY ACTION THAT HAPPENS IN THIS BOOK, WHETHER IT BE HIS BROADCAST CAREER OR HIS LOVE LIFE, IS A DIRECT REACTION TO A DECISION THE MAIN CHARACTER MAKES. SO IT MIGHT BE REGARDED AS A STUDY OF THE MALE ANIMAL, AS WELL AS JUGGLING PERSONAL AND BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS. 3. THE MAIN CHARACTER IN THE BOOK, JAKE YANICK, THE RADIO SALESMAN WHO GOES THROUGH THE NOVEL LOOKING FOR MEDIA BUYS AND LOVE, WHAT MAKES HIM SO COMPELLING? ANSWER:HE DRIVES PEOPLE CRAZY. HE’S THE TYPE OF GUY WHO IS ALWAYS DOING A DEAL BUT THE DEAL ALWAYS IS DESIGNED NOT FOR GREED OR GOLD, BUT FOR THE CURRENCY OF LOVE. HE WANTS PEOPLE, HIS CLIENTS, HIS CO WORKERS AND HIS BOSSES TO LOVE HIM. BUT GIVEN ALL OF THAT, IF HE HAD A CHOICE OF PLEASING EVERYONE IN THE WORLD VS A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN HE HAD HIS SIGHTS ON, HE’D PICK THE WOMAN EVERYTIME. BUT ONCE HE GOT THE ATTENTION FROM THE WOMAN HE WAS CHASING, HE MOVED ON TO THE NEXT ONE. AND IN THE BOOK, HE DROVE THE MAIN WOMAN CHARACTERS JUST PLAIN CRAZY BECAUSE WHILE HE LOVED EACH ONE OF THEM WITH ALL HIS HEART, THERE WAS ALWAYS ANOTHER EYE LOOKING OUT FOR THAT NEXT BABE TO ENTER HIS LIFE. TO JAKE, THE CHASE MEANT EVERYTHING. THAT, DROVE THE WOMEN CRAZY. SEGUE INTO “MIXED UP SHOOK UP GIRL”. 4. DAVID, HOW MUCH OF THE BOOK CENTERS ON THE RADIO INDUSTRY’S CAST OF CHARACTERS AND DID YOU BASE THEM ON ACTUAL PEOPLE THAT YOU WORKED WITH? ANSWER: FIRST OF ALL, THIS BOOK, THIS STORY IS A WORK OF FICTION. IT’S MADE UP. BUT IF YOU ARE AN OBSERVER OF EVERYDAY LIFE, A PEOPLE WATCHER, YOU CAN’T HELP BUT CREATE A CHARACTER WHICH IS A BLENDED HUMAN BEING. YOU TAKE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF ONE, THE QUIRKS OF ANOTHER, AND IN A WAY, CREATE A WHOLE NEW PERSON. HAVING WORKED IN THE BUSINESS A LONG TIME SHADOE, YOU’VE COME ACROSS MANY PEOPLE. THERE ARE SOME THAT STRIKE YOU AS BLAND AND THEY DISAPPEAR INTO THE WOODWORK AND YEARS LATER, THEY BECOME “WHO WAS THAT GUY?” AND YOU NEVER, EVER REMEMBER HIS NAME. BUT THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE WHO BURST ONTO YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS AND THEY STAY THERE, FOR GOOD OR BAD, FOREVER. SO WHEN THE READER, ESPECIALLY RADIO PEOPLE PICK UP THIS BOOK, THEY’LL MOST LIKELY SEE COMPOSITIES OF PEOPLE. AS AN EXAMPLE, I PUT A LITTLE BIT OF MYSELF INTO A CHARACTER BY ADDING TO THE BOOK MY FAVORITE SONG OF ALL TIME, THE ONE SONG, THAT IF I WERE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND, I’D WANT WITH ME. SEGUE INTO “WILL YOU LOVE ME TOMORROW BY THE SHIRELLES. 5. IN THE BOOK, THE MAIN CHARACTER IS A PHILANDERER, BUT HE SEEMS TO BE ONE WITH REDEEMING QUALITIES, THERE ARE MANY IN OUR AUDIENCE WHO WOULD DISPUTE THAT THIS TYPE OF ANIMAL CAN EXIST. HOW DID YOU MAKE A CHEATER A SYMPATHETIC CHARACTER? ANSWER: THERE ARE SOME WHO HAVE READ THE BOOK THAT DON’T FEEL ANY SMPATHY FOR THE PHILANDERING CHARACTER AT ALL. WHAT THIS GUY IS DOING WITH WOMEN IS MORALLY DUBIOUS BUT HE DOES IT IN SUCH A WAY THAT EVEN THOUGH THE WOMEN KNOW HE’S WRONG, THEY RARELY CALL HIM ON IT. THERE ARE TWO REASONS, THE FIRST IS BECAUSE HE TREATS EACH WOMAN BETTER THAN THEY’VE EVER BEEN TREATED BEFORE. THE SECOND REASON IS HIS COMPETITION. THE OTHER GUYS WHO ARE OUT THERE IN THE DATING POOL MAKE HIM LOOK GOOD BY COMPARISON. AND HE SMARTLY EXPLOITS THAT. SO EVEN THOUGH EACH WOMAN HAS A LITTLE BIT OF JAKE, THAT’S BETTER THAN HAVING A WHOLE GUY WHO’S A TOTAL JERK. IN SHORT, HE STAYS IN THEIR LIVES BECAUSE HE MAKES THEM HAPPY. SEGUE INTO OH HOW HAPPY. 6. IN THE BOOK THE MAIN CHARACTER HAS TROUBLE WITH WOMEN. DAVID, HOW DO YOU FEEL THE BOOK PORTRAYS WOMEN? ANSWER: THE BOOK PORTRAYS JAKE YANICK’S WOMEN IN STAGES. AT THE VERY START THEY SEEM TO BE EASILY MANIPULATED AND NEEDY TO BEGIN WITH. THEN WHEN THEY INCUR THEIR INJURIES, BOTH MENTAL AND PHYSICAL, THEY APPEAR TO BE TOTALLY DEPENDENT ON HIM. BUT AS THEY GET TO KNOW HIM AND BECOME INVOLVED WITH HIM, MUCH TO HIS SURPRISE, THEY BECOME STRONGER. AND AT THE END OF THE STORY, THEY BECOME MORE INDEPENDENT AND ACCOMPLISHED. NOW IT IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER WHETHER IT WAS BECAUSE THEY LOVED HIM THEY BECAME STRONGER OR BECAUSE HE WASN’T 100% FAITHFUL THAT THEY BECAME STRONGER. BUT ALL IN ALL, THE WOMEN ARE PORTRAYED AS SMART, STRONG AND A LITTLE SASSY. 7. IN MANY INCIDENTS IN THE BOOK, YOU SEEM TO THREAD MUSIC THROUGH IT, WAS THAT AN ARTISTIC DEVICE OR WAS THAT DESIGNED TO APPEAL TO POSSIBLY A LARGER MARKET? ANSWER: PARTLY ARTISTIC DEVICE, PARTLY AS A REAL BASIS OF THE STORY. THE GUY FINDS OUT IN HIS BROADCASTING CAREER THAT THE RADIO AND MUSIC HE KNEW AS A BOY NO LONGER EXIST. THE MUSIC THAT’S IN THE BOOK IS GOING TO APPEAL TO THOSE PEOPLE WHO GREW UP WITH TOP 40 RADIO. EVEN WITH THE CORPORATE CHANGES, JAKE STILL LOVES RADIO AS HE DID AS A KID BUT NOW AS A MAN, RADIO DOES NOT LOVE HIM BACK. SEGUE TO JUNIOR WALKER AND THE ALL STARS. 8. WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR THE PROJECT, HOW FAR DO YOU WANT TO TAKE THIS? I KNOW YOU’RE A BIG FRANKIE VALLI FAN, AND IN THE BOOK, THERE IS A PORTION WHERE THE CHARACTER REFERS TO THE SONG RAG DOLL. AS A MATTER OF FACT, HE EVEN SINGS THE SONG. IT SEEMS TO ME YOU WROTE THAT PART WITH A SCREENPLAY IN MIND/ IS THAT TRUE? ANSWER: I THINK, SHADOE, IF YOU HAVE WHAT YOU THINK IS A GOOD STORY, OF COURSE YOU ARE GOING TO GIVE IT BROADER INTEPRETATIONS WITH AN EYE TOWARD SOMETHING BIGGER. I BELIEVE IN THIS STORY, THIS IS NOT MY EGO TALKING HERE BUT I BELIEVE IF PEOPLE LIKE IT, IT HAS POSSIBILITIES. AND I CAN’T LIE TO YOU AND TELL YOU I HAVEN’T THOUGHT ABOUT AN ACTOR LIKE BILLY CRYSTAL, JOE PESCHI OR SOMEONE LIKE THAT SINGING RAG DOLL TO HIS GIRL FRIEND IN A MOVIE BASED ON MY BOOK. I DON’T THINK I’M THAT GOOD OR MY WRITING IS THAT GOOD, I THINK THE STORY IS THAT GOOD AND HAS POSSIBILITIIES. BUT AS THE SAYING GOES, “FROM YOUR LIPS TO GOD’S EARS”. SEGUE INTO “RAG DOLL” BY THE 4 SEASONS. 9. DAVID, WHAT WAS THE HARDEST PART ABOUT THIS PROJECT? ANSWER: JUST GETTING IT FINISHED. WRITING THE THING IS EASY, GETTING THE MARKETING SET UP, EDITING IT, POLISHING IT, REFINING IT, THAT’S THE TOUGH PART. 10. ARE YOU WORKING ON ANY OTHER FUTURE ENDEAVORS WITH YOUR WRITING AND BY WAY OF THAT QUESTION, WHAT IS THE PROGNOSIS FOR A FULL RECOVERY FROM YOUR ACCIDENT? ANSWER: WELL, I'M ALWAYS GOING TO HAVE TO WALK WITH A CANE, THAT'S NOT GOING TO CHANGE. BUT I'M FROM THE PITTSTON AREA, AND EITHER WE'RE TOUGH OR WE DON'T KNOW ANY BETTER. THERE ARE PEOPLE WORSE OFF THAN ME. I HAVE A FEW BOOKS COMPLETED, ONE OF THEM IS THE 26 RULES OF LIFE AND THE OTHER IS A NOVEL BASED ON THE CALL CENTER ON SOUTH MAIN STREET. HOPEFULLY WE CAN GET SOME PEOPLE NATIONALLY TO LOOK AT THESE. BUT AS FAR AS THE ACCIDENT AND THE WRITING, THEY GO HAND IN HAND, ONE WOULDN'T HAPPEN WITHOUT THE OTHER. AND EVERYDAY I GET UP AND JUST DO WHAT I NEED TO DO> SEGUE INTO TUB THUMPING. 11. DAVID, WHERE CAN WE GET THE BOOK? ANSWER: BARNES AND NOBLE, THE TUDOR BOOK STORES IN KINGSTON AND CLARKS SUMMIT, COMING SOON TO PRICE CHOPPER AND WEGMANS AND AT ALUBIRP54@AOL.COM. DAVID, THANK YOU FOR BEING OUR GUEST TODAY ON SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE OLDIES ON KRZ FM.