Lucky Dog!

NYMB Co-creators Nelson O. Ottenhausen and Terri Elders

F. Scott Fitzgerald once remarked that nothing is as obnoxious as other people's luck. I can't quite agree. Some people who bask in good luck are so exuberant in sharing their joy about it that you just want to shake your head in admiration and amazement. Nelson O. Ottenhausen is such a lucky fellow!

So next summer I'm hoping to stand in line to see Jugs and Bottles. Yes, Nelson, co-creator of the upcoming Not Your Mother's Book...On Military Life and contributor to the recently released Not Your Mother's Book...On Travel has provided an item for my well-worth-waiting-for list.

We met recently for lunch in Spokane, where he was visiting his daughter after addressing a number of writers' groups in Seattle on tips for getting published. He'd been keeping it a secret, he confided, but he'd just had a confirmation phone call and could now announce that one of his novels has been scheduled for production starting in January. Nelson believes the movie will be in theaters by next summer.

Here's the description of Jugs and Bottles from Nelson's website, www.booksbynelson.com: 

Jami Unice Gamble, a woman deaf since birth, is targeted for murder after witnessing a Mafia style execution and then identifying the two hit men to the police.  She, along with her dog Bottles, become involved in a series of chaotic events as two brothers attempt to silence her with their comedic & bumbling ways.  Being deaf, Jami is oblivious to it all. 

Lt. Randall Casey is the only police officer within the police department who can communicate with their key witness.  He takes on the responsibility to protect Jami and soon begins a romance with her.  His twelve-year-old deaf son Joey befriends the woman and her dog, forming an immediate bond with both of them.

Bottles, a mild and friendly dog, eventually must defend his master and friends in a powerful struggle to the death.

Nelson, a retired Army officer, who owns Patriot Media Publishing, indeed has been blessed by Lady Luck. His novel came to the attention of the film's producer purely by accident. Another book his company  has published, The Donkey, had been commissioned for filming. The producer had been intrigued by the cover of this novel. As he began to read it, he realized it, too, would make a great film.

Nelson, himself a lucky dog, does not know what furred star will be slotted to play the canine lead, but he knows who, when he drafted the book, he had in mind for the bungling brothers...Danny DeVito and Joe Pesci, both experienced in playing characters linked to the Mafia. As for the heroine, well, the producer has worked in the past with Drew Barrymore, and Nelson would be pleased indeed to see this actress cast as Jami.

You never know with Nelson...with Lady Luck's help he might get his dream cast. He certainly has proved he's a favorite of hers with his true story in NYMB...On Travel,"A Touch of Luck." In that story he relates how on a Caribbean cruise he won a series of so many seriolithographs at the ship's art auctions that he had elderly women lined up to tap his shoulder for good luck.

He's also submitted a story, "One Starry Night," that's going to be a contender for selection for Not Your Mother's Book...On Sharing Secrets. I can't share this secret quite yet...but can guarantee that it's out of this world!

Jugs and Bottles, and other novels by Nelson, can be purchased here: www.booksbynelson.com

To read Nelson's bio and his suggestions for stories for Not Your Mother's Book...On Military Life, which he will co-create with Ken McKowen, go here: http://www.publishingsyndicate.com/publishing_syndicate/submissions/title_descriptions/military_life.html