Dundee, NE (UPS) Jay Slagle has met Warren Buffet, President George W. Bush and Nomar Garciaparra. He’s been to concerts featuring Bono, Bryan Adams and the Village People. He’s lived in Houston, Saudia Arabia and Falls City (NE). However, if you ask him whose blessing he seeks for his new children’s book, Jack and Noah’s Big Day, he doesn’t hesitate to respond Michael Kelly, the dean of the Omaha World Herald columnists.
“I’ve been reading Michael’s column for over 30 years, back to the day when he was a sports columnist and his legal name was Mike Kelly,” noted Slagle, “and his main job was to inflame Cornhusker fans into writing to the ‘Voice from the Grandstand.’ He wasn’t afraid to ask the hard questions and tell the truth. On the other hand, I’m not afraid to make up a question and then answer it with no regard for the truth.”
“Michael Kelly is the most influential person in Nebraska, with apologies to my 12-year-old daughter, who thinks she holds that position. If he would write about my book in his column, I’m pretty sure I’d be as successful as JK Rowling. In fact, I’d even start speaking with a British accent.”
Jack and Noah’s Big Day, aimed at children ages 7-12, is the story about two Dundee eight-year-olds who spend an entire summer planning ‘the coolest birthday party ever.’ It features elephants, an exploding house and a seven-year-old attorney. However, no citizens were harmed during the writing of the book.
Several citizens’ sensibilities may be harmed beginning November 23, when Slagle will launch the ’20 Days of Stupid’ campaign, a social media and abstract art project intended to raise awareness to self-published children’s books written by hilarious guys from Dundee. The ’20 Days of Stupid’ can be followed on Twitter (@JaySlagleWrites), FaceBook (www.facebook.com/JackAndNoahsBigDay) and at Jay’s website (www.jayslagle.com/news).