Distilled Publishing -- on Vacation

I found out today that although Powell's Books loved the book and definitely wanted to have it in their bookstores, I am still going to have a challenge meeting their prices given that I am a self-publisher.

As with other bookstores, it has never been a question of the quality of the book or its content, but the price I can offer it to them. Self-publishing doesn't make it easy for the little-guy to break into major retail bookstores. But I am still working to find an alternate publisher (anyone know of any here in Portland?)

The book will remain available through the link here on this blog at the lowest price I can offer. In the past two weeks I have sold more than in the past month, so thank you to those who made those purchases!

For the next week I will be out of reach of the Internet, and most importantly out of reach from my day job. To everyone out there have a safe and relaxing Memorial Weekend. Be back in a week.

The Road Less Traveled to the Horse Brass

Some people are content within the herd. Others are driven by forces within to stray in their own directions.

If you walk far enough down SE Belmont you will come to the Horse Brass Pub. An establishment dedicated to maintaining the true feel of the modern English pub. I sat one early February morning watching football (European, not American) and sharing snifters of aged scotch and cigarettes (for over four hours) with a man who strayed from the herd, the owner of The Horse Brass, Don Younger.

In that morning I learned how the micro brew revolution started here in Oregon back in the 1970’s. A revolution brought about by a group of friends who were strays themselves, men who had the idea of brewing and selling their own styles of beer at a time in which Oly and Blitz were the dominant macro brews of every tavern in Portland. These friends literally all lumped themselves into a car and drove from Portland to Salem to help change some of the antiquated liquor laws of Oregon that prevented the selling and distribution of self-brewed beers. In that car were gentlemen from what became the breweries of Widmer, McMenamin’s, Bridgeport, and of course Don himself.

Throughout the morning Don recounted his life, his failures with previous bars, and some carefully worded aces (a la Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler”) on what makes a man successful, in life, and in business.

As a stray, perhaps that is why his bar is located so far from the downtown area, or perhaps his love of England led him to a location that is geographically closer to those British Isles.

One of those solid “Aces” of advice made it into my book, Shots of Portland. Others will be posted here in the near future.

A Little bit of Chicago in Sellwood

Many years ago, the southeast area known as Sellwood was the most populated area of Portland (more populated than Portland itself was at that time). The Sellwood area featured a racetrack, and an infamous bar called the Whitehouse (known for its gambling and prostitution), just off of what is now SW Macadam. The street of Macadam derived its name from the early process of road paving, known as macadamizing. This was the first paved road in Portland near the turn of the 20th century, and tales abound of men racing their horse-pulled buggies down this road to The Whitehouse; an early form of drag racing I suppose.

Within Sellwood itself stood a bar known as the Leipzig, and for years this was one of many watering holes on the southeast side near the bridge. Years later, the original owner would sell the Leipzig to its current owners, with one caveat, the Leipzig sign was to remain, and so it does to this day.

Today the attached restaurant is known as Geno’s. The bar inside was salvaged from a Chicago warehouse by the current owner, and adds a more authentic old-world touch to the atmosphere of the bar (the brass seal from the manufacturer is still on the bar today).

The legacy left behind by the original owner, the Leipzig sign, often makes me consider what drives men to want to create and perpetuate legacies.


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