On my way downtown, to chant Chenrezig with our Tibetan Buddhist group, I got a call from Java John Goldacker. Photographer, artist, radio personality, and illustrator of Bud the Spud and River Dragon. As I was passing the studios of WFIT, no less. What timing! He wanted to know if I could pop in to discuss Songs from the Well, which is already an Amazon bestseller (ranked #9) after just one day. (Buy it here.) Remember, 100% of the profits go to the Cancer Care Center Foundation of Brevard. See below for more information.

Java John doesn’t know what to say. His wife, Jenn, died of cancer too.

Could I? Chanting could wait, I thought. Let’s do some good in real time, right now and, what do you know, the truck had already turned into the studio parking lot. Smart truck.

We discussed Songs from the Well, Lee, and love and loss and, of course, music. And you can hear it Saturday night, 4/20/13 in the 7:00 hour, on WFIT 89.5 FM or at http://www.wfit.org/

And I got to pick one of Lee’s favourite songs for the show. You’ll have to tune in to find which one. And I got to choose which Brevard Busking Coalition song too. NOT one Java John’s ever played before. Which one? Tune in to find out!

First one to post the answer to either will win a free copy of the book. Please post the answers in the comment section here or use the contact form on the homepage of adamtritt.com.

What one person said, and I agree:

Want to do something to directly help families dealing with cancer?
Struggling yourself or know someone coping with the serious illness or loss of a loved one?
Have five bucks to share?

Buy this book.

Songs from the Well: A Memoir of Love and Grief, from award-winning poet and author Adam Byrn Tritt, is the remarkable chronicle of his love for his wife, Lee, his sudden and heartbreaking loss of her to brain cancer, and his struggle to find a way back to life. It is based on essays, blog postings, and poetry that he created throughout his relationship with her and in the time since her passing. His hope is that his experiences will help others grappling with a loved one’s serious illness or loss, as well as their friends and families. 100% of the author’s proceeds from the book are being donated to the Cancer Care Centers Foundation, which helps patients and families dealing with cancer.

"Smithcraft Press is pleased to announce that our Mensch-in-Chief, Adam Byrn Tritt, has won the Preditors & Editors™ Readers' Poll for Best Children's Book published during 2012! Bud the Spud was honored with reader comments like, "Gruesome fun—the illustrations are mind bending and the words tell a story that everyone needs to hear" and "Incredible book! what a great way to teach kids the benefits of activity and the draw backs to being a couch potato!" THANKS TO ALL WHO VOTED, AND CONGRATULATIONS, ADAM!"

I could not have said it better myself. So, if you still don't have your copy of Bud the Spud, what are you waiting for?


Saturday,October 13th, 2012, noon to 2pm, I will be reading and signing copies of Bud the Spud, as well as my other books, at Creative Energy in Historic Downtown Melbourne.

Here is the Facebook link for the event.

And here is a map to the event.

There. You have run out of excuses.

San Diego, September 8th at 3pm, I’ll be signing copies of Bud the Spud. But I’m leaving my potato gun at home. (But since I am coming from afar, you might want to ask the good folks at Mysterious Galaxy to grab a copy for you, in case the TSA considers my stack of books a potential terrorist threat.)

I’ll have copies of my other books too, so come on out if you are in the area. If you aren’t, well, I’m flying there, so what’s your excuse?

Here is the Mysterious Galaxy Books website for the event.

Here is the event Facebook page.

Nice getting your book in the paper (Florida Today) Sunday. I had my son watch your book’s video. Then I told him to pick a vegetable. He does not eat vegetables at all. We have been battling this issue forever. Wonder of wonders, he picked corn. A real break through. Thank you.

Obviously, you will want to bookmark the page and read it again and again on those cold lonely nights.

And I am honoured for “Bud” to appear next to my nomination for the 2012 Black Weblog Award.

At least I think it’s my nomination. Must be. I keep telling you all I’m not white. 

The Interview is here.

And soon, the amazing, the terrific, the incredible, Bud the Spud video. And the audiobook will also be available with music by Brevard Busking Coalition. Soon, in e-shops everywhere.

Bud was a kid, like any other kid. He liked pizza and ice cream. He liked to watch TV. But what happens when a kid (like any other kid) eats way too much junk food and watches way too much TV, and never, ever leaves the couch?

You guessed it: he turns into a couch potato. Literally!

You won’t believe what happens to him next. . . .

Once upon a time, not so very long ago, it was mostly middle-aged men and women who seemed to live their lives in front of the television, munching on salty, sweet junk food.

Unfortunately, more and more children and pre-teens have been joining this movement—or should we say non-movement! That is what prompted Adam Byrn Tritt to imagine what happens to these young sedentary grazers. He shares his vision in Bud the Spud, graphically captured by “Java John” Goldacker.

In a unique feature, the book has three separate endings—three different outcomes for poor Bud—which range from the positive and uplifting to the decidedly macabre. Kids will scream and laugh and wince (read more here). While some parents may initially think the comic mayhem is too over-the-top, when they see their kids giggling and reading the book over and over, most change their minds (read more here).

Each ending in Bud the Spud offers a chance for parents and kids to discuss a topic that may in the past have only led to arguments and screaming. The goal of Tritt and Goldacker is screams of laughter—because behind the humor is a serious message. This book is a stealth weapon to help combat childhood obesity, a tool to convince young people that aspiring to be a couch potato is no aspiration at all.

Bud the Spud was created to be read aloud, and has been field-tested with children of all ages, from elementary through middle school—though teens love the book too, even when they’re pretending to be too cool for it!

Read below for news, fun things to do, book tour information, and some thoughts from the book’s creators on how the book came to be and where we go from here. And be sure to click around our site for book reviews, a fabulous video, and some very, very interesting merchandise.

(By the way, all of the images on our site get much larger when you click on them!)