The 60-Second Novelist

by Hurley, Dan

• ISBN13: 9781558746923
• ISBN10: 1558746927
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-12-01
• Publisher: Hci

Summary

So begins the most original book in a generation--Dan Hurley's inspiring true tale of how he escaped his desk job to write the life stories of over 22,613 people (and counting!), from Chicago to New York, in Iowa farmhouses, Midwestern malls and California convenience stores. Hurley has listened as children and crack addicts, the homeless and the famous, poured out their confessions and a lifetime of wisdom. Now he shares the most incredible true stories he's heard (including the one from a pretty woman named Alice, whom he ended up marrying) and what they taught him about life, love, health, money and making dreams come true. With over one hundred photographs and sixty of the original stories he wrote for Vanna White, Tom Brokaw and thousands of other people you've never heard of. You will laugh, cry, and feel as though Dan packed you into his suitcase alongside his typewriter. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Dan Hurley is an award-winning writer, a former contributing editor of Psychology Today, and serves as a vice president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors. He is the creator of the #1 ontine writing site, "Amazing Instant Novelist."

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS	xi	(4)
AUTHOR'S NOTE	xv
CHAPTER 1: What 22,613 People Taught Me About Life	7	(12)
Something Extremely Unusual	7	(12)
CHAPTER 2: Man on the Street	19	(16)
Sidewalk Psychiatrist	19	(3)
Taste of Chicago	22	(2)
The Reader Who Slapped Me	24	(4)
Sidewalks of New York	28	(3)
How Long Will This Train Be Delayed?	31	(4)
CHAPTER 3: Have Remington, Will Party	35	(11)
Lost and Found	35	(2)
Mother and Child Reunion	37	(2)
Honest Abe	39	(1)
My Favorite Love Story	40	(6)
CHAPTER 4: Department Stories	46	(11)
Ellen Cooperperson	46	(3)
Just Another Shopper	49	(2)
The Survivors	51	(6)
CHAPTER 5: The Wisdom of Ordinary People	57	(13)
The Perfect Life	57	(2)
Ask God, Don't Tell Him	59	(2)
He Lost 85 Pounds and Gained 109	61	(1)
Life Is Good	62	(2)
Where the Heart Is	64	(6)
CHAPTER 6: 60-Second Fables	70	(10)
Krista the Old Maid	70	(1)
Looking for the Spark	71	(2)
Fred Collects His Thoughts	73	(1)
What's Not What	74	(1)
Universe 2.0	75	(5)
CHAPTER 7: Love at First Sight	80	(19)
The Twinge	80	(3)
They Met on the 6 Train	83	(3)
Donna's Dream Lover	86	(3)
Us Against the World	89	(4)
The Photograph	93	(6)
CHAPTER 8: 60 Seconds of Fame	99	(10)
Tom Brokaw	99	(1)
Cristina Ferrare	100	(3)
Vanna White	103	(2)
Jules Feiffer	105	(4)
CHAPTER 9: Twisted Tales by My Evil Twin	109	(14)
Fly-by-Night Monkeys	109	(2)
Murdoch's Return	111	(2)
The Potato Blight	113	(1)
"I Like Eyes," He Said	114	(1)
Maria's Fingers	115	(1)
Robby's Traumatic Experience	116	(2)
Bid Day	118	(5)
CHAPTER 10: 60 Seconds in the Life of America	123	(31)
What Am I Doing?	123	(3)
Inconvenience Store	126	(2)
The Brain Is a Powerful Organ	128	(1)
Eureka	129	(4)
Iowa Hog House	133	(4)
Writing in a Cornfield	137	(2)
The First Day of Kindergarten	139	(5)
The Crack Runner	144	(4)
Minute People	148	(6)
CHAPTER 11: Life and Death	154	(19)
Boating in the Fog	154	(1)
A New Beginning	155	(2)
That's a Long Story	157	(1)
Back Toward His Dreams	158	(2)
All for the Best	160	(1)
Tailspin	161	(12)
CHAPTER 12: Tall Story	173	(13)
7 A.M./Second Story: Care and Feeding	173	(2)
9 A.M./Fourth Story: Workaday	175	(1)
2 P.M./Ninth Story: The Higher Power Hour	176	(1)
4 P.M./Eleventh Hour: End of the Workweek	177	(3)
5 P.M./Twelfth Story: Rush Hour	180	(1)
10 P.M./Seventeenth Story: Party Time	181	(5)
CHAPTER 13: America's Biggest Sidewalk	186	(19)
After the Fairy Tale Ends	186	(3)
Brought Home by My Father	189	(4)
A Little Girl's Questions	193	(3)
All My Children	196	(3)
What the Good Lord Left Behind	199	(6)
One Last Minute	205	(2)
About the Author	207	(1)
In Person or Online	208