Fun reading "Charlie Six" in Jack Kerouac Alley, North Beach, San Francisco

I had great fun reading from "Charlie Six" in Jack Kerouac Alley, next to the fabled City Lights Book store in San Francisco's North Beach, last Thursday, August 4. It was amazing to look out into a ton of smiling faces. Some were friends, some were people I'd seen around, some I recognized from Facebook, lots were total strangers.

Reading in Jack Kerouac Alley

 

I read the "Howl" chapter from Charlie Six, it was really a hoot with people laughing at Charlie's antics. At one point everyone clapped, and I lost my place, it was such a great feeling after three years of work to see people enjoying my writing.

Right after I'd finished, people were asking me if I'd be doing any more street readings, it got me to thinking spontaneously, and I told a young lady that I would indeed be doing more street events. I'm lining up suitable alleys right now, and thinking Sausalito, Berkeley, the alley where Michael Zagaris shot the "Charlie Six" cover, Point Reyes in Northern Marin,  and then Seattle and Portland, before going down south to Los Angeles and San Diego. There must be cool alleys all over the West Coast. Any ideas?. I'd love to hear from you.

Fun party afterwards in Spec's Adler Museum across the street in William Saroyan Place, lots of drinks, champagne, books to sign, and the best surprise of all, my neurosurgeon, Dr. Peter Weber, turned up to introduce me for an impromptu reading in the bar. "He went into surgery as Mark and came out as Brixton."

Peter is a funny guy and brilliant surgeon. He definitely saved my life, when I had two aneurysms burst in my frontal lobes, a dozen years ago.

It was a fantastic evening. Thank you to everyone who was there, and for those who weren't, I'll be seeing you in an alley somewhere soon.  

Video Cameras and Howl in the bookstore window

Could I get your autograph?

Relaxing outside Vesuvio's with "Mad" Andy Olmsted, my minder, who allowed me one last Rizla licorice
paper roll-up half an hour before the reading.

 

Thanks to "Mad" Andy my throat kept going throughout the reading of the "Howl" chapter from "Charlie Six"
and I still had a voice left to talk to people afterwards.

Outside Spec's with my neurosurgeon Peter Weber, without whom I'd never have been reading from "Charlie,"
let alone been alive to write the novel. A million thanks.

A good laugh with a good mate.

       The final reading of the evening at Specs. I'm so glad "Charlie" elicited so many smiles.
He's a funny little bloke.          
(All Photos taken by Michael Zagaris. Thank you Z-Man and bless yer cotton socks.)