The True Story of How One Dog Turned Five Neighbors into a Family.

Red Carpet Puppy, The Best Go Getter In Town

Posted December 20th, 2010 in Friendship by Glenn Plaskin

Mystery Queen Mary Higgins Clark

Taking a nap on the red carpet after 2 hours of shaking paws

In Judge Judy's arms, kissing Judge Jerry

For the last three months, my new cocker spaniel puppy, Lucy, has been the most fantastic canine companion, a “literary” star, if going to book parties counts.

With Calvin Klein

Wherever I go to promote KATIE UP AND DOWN THE HALL, Lucy goes too.

Most memorably, Lucy trotted around in a pink rhinestone collar, posing for photographers while greeting and licking guests at the KATIE UP AND DOWN THE HALL launch party.

This was an event for 350 people held at the MacKenzie Childs flagship store on West 57th Street, the party hosted by the legendary Calvin Klein.

With Ernie Anastos

Judge Judy Arriving

With Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and his wife Veronica

There, Lucy enjoyed being carried around by the likes of Judge Judy, and Fox anchor Ernie Anastos,while offering her paw to such luminaries as Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and bestselling authors Mary Higgins Clark and Barbara Taylor Bradford.

Not to mention my dog-loving agent, JAN MILLER, Katie’s greatest champion, now selling the book as a major motion picture.

Jan Miller

Backstage with Liz Smith at Barnes & Noble

At the Barnes & Noble book reading, hosted by the incomparable Liz Smith,

Liz and Glenn onstage at Barnes & Noble

Lucy patiently sat on stage with us for 90 minutes as Liz and I chatted. When Lucy got bored, she started chewing my notes, only a minor infraction.

Dog Lover Ivana Trump

Signing Autographs at Book Expo America with Hachette PR Director Shanon Stowe by my side plus Lucy

Earlier in the year, at Book Expo America, where Katie first made its debut, Lucy greeted more than 300 fans who lined up at the Jacob Javits Center to meet her, while also turning her charms on book editors, book chain buyers, agents, plus the Sam’s Club sales force of Walmart.

At "Meet The Breeds" Jacob Javits Center Book Signing

Later in the year, again at the Javits, Lucy held court at the American Kennel Club’s Meet The Breeds event. She sat in her own booth, the prettiest cocker spaniel there, surrounded by Katie books sold by Borders, chocolate in the shape of dog bones, and stuffed cocker spaniel puppies.

And at the Katie book signing in Battery Park City, held at Izzy & Nats, a great local restaurant, Lucy arrived with orange bows in her hair–greeting more than 150 guests and selling 100 books in less than an hour. She’s a real go getter.

Posing With Calvin Klein at Launch Event

Through it all, Lucy has a special knack, never wavering in her attention, eager to pose for pictures, the flash of cameras no distraction at all.

This puppy doesn’t seem to have a nerve in her body. In fact, at the main launch party, with 15 photographers flashing away, and some of them mistakenly yelling Katie’s name at her, she just patiently stared into the cameras, never blinking, even responding to commands: “Katie, over here,” with her head turning prettily to catch the light.

Katie Best Friends (l to r) Lee, Roberta, and Ana

Her secret?

Constant socialization, which I recommend to anyone getting a puppy. Lucy arrived in Manhattan at just eight weeks old from a farm in upstate NY, and from the minute she landed here, she was actively socialized with dogs of every size and breed.

She joyfully ran around the dog park chasing dogs three times her size. She frolicked with kids in the lobby of our building. She sat on any lap should could find–adults, seniors, everyone and anyone who wanted to hold or pet her.

And for that reason, she is fearless, fun, energetic, and eager to please.

I feel so fortunate to have a red carpet puppy, the best in town, a dog who is intelligent and affectionate, ready for all the fun that she can find.

The next time she’ll be greeting her public officially will be in 2011, when the paperback edition of KATIE UP AND DOWN THE HALL is published.

Maybe one day, Lucy will hit the big time on her own, and they’ll be another book–LUCY UP AND DOWN MANHATTAN–PARTY GIRL EXTRAORDINAIRE.

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A Katie Up And Down The Hall Book Reading: Glenn, Lucy, & Michael Lucas

Posted December 10th, 2010 in Friendship by Glenn Plaskin

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KATIE Book Reading This Wednesday @ Gay Community Center w/Film Star Treat

Posted December 3rd, 2010 in Friendship by Glenn Plaskin

CENTER SPEAKERS PRESENTS MICHAEL LUCAS IN CONVERSATION WITH AUTHOR GLENN PLASKIN

EVENT DATE

Wednesday, December 8 2010 : 7:00pm – 8:30pm

LOCATION

The Center

DESCRIPTION

Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Reception 6PM, Program 7PM

The Center Speakers Series is proud to present Michael Lucas in conversation with author Glenn Plaskin.

Join us for this fascinating and touching conversation and book signing with author Glenn Plaskin. This conversation will be moderated by one of the most provocative figures in the gay adult entertainment industry, Michael Lucas.

For animal lovers everywhere, Katie: Up & Down The Hall is the heartwarming story of how five neighbors are brought together by the presence of a remarkable dog. In an increasingly frenetic culture where “real” families are often scattered and relationships strained, this uplifting tale dramatically demonstrates how a surrogate family can become just as close as a biological one.

More About Author the Glenn Plaskin
Best-selling author Glenn Plaskin specializes in writing in-depth celebrity interviews and human development stories. His published work includes two books: Horowitz: The Biography of Vladimir Horowitz and Turning Point: Pivotal Moments in the Lives of America’s Celebrities, based on the syndicated column he wrote for the New York Daily News and Tribune Media Services. His features have appeared in Family Circle, Playboy, Us, W, Redbook, Cosmopolitan, Ladies’ Home Journal and in hundreds of U.S. and foreign newspapers; including the New York Times and the New York Daily News.

A veteran psychology reporter and longtime contributing editor at Family Circle, his interview subjects have included such legendary figures as Katharine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Meryl Streep, Nancy Reagan, Edward Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn, Diana Ross, Calvin Klein, Sophia Loren, Shirley MacLaine, Barbara Walters, Peter Jennings, Marianne Williamson, Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, Donald Trump, Bill Gates, Christopher Reeve, Carol Burnett, Dolly Parton, Bette Midler, Cher and Oprah Winfrey. He has appeared on Oprah, Larry King, Joan Rivers, Geraldo, Sally Jesse Raphael, Today, and other television shows

More About Michael Lucas
Michael Lucas is the most mainstreamed, provocative, and controversial figure in gay adult entertainment. With his unique character, activism, and distinction, he is at the forefront of his industry and beyond. Gay newsmagazine The Advocate said, “Michael Lucas has used the stardom porn gave him as a platform to speak out against drugs, unsafe sex, child exploitation, anti-Semitism, religious oppression of gays, and a host of other social problems.”

Lucas has been called everything on his rise to be the owner of one of the most successful porn empires in the world: savvy, abrasive, ruthlessly honest, iron-fisted, intelligent, blunt, disciplined and determined. He is strong, triumphant and this industry’s sexiest maverick.

More About Katie: Up & Down The Hall
When journalist and bestselling author Glenn Plaskin decided to get a dog, he never imagined that his cocker spaniel would so dramatically change his life. He named the somewhat homely runt of the litter Katie, after one of his favorite interview subjects, Katharine Hepburn. But on the day he brought the blond ball of fur home, he realized he needed help, not knowing a whole lot about raising a puppy.

So he walked down the hall of his New York City apartment building and impulsively knocked on the door of Pearl, his octogenarian neighbor, who had raised cocker spaniels in the past. When that door opened, Katie plopped into Pearl’s lap—and what followed was a series of events that would forever change the course of all their lives.

A must read for lgbt dog lovers!

Joan Rivers
“Katie types, she models, she uses a remote, she changes the lives of everyone around her–and she’s got a great wardrobe! What dog (other than my own, of course) can do all that? Well Katie can– and it’s a fabulous, heartfelt book.”

Mary Tyler Moore
“Katie is a dream come true to the various families living on her floor in a New York apartment. Her heart is so big that she adopts them all, making you wish you were one of them.”

Judge Judy Sheindlin
“Katie the cocker spaniel and her human family teach that loving isn’t abut the bonds of biology, loving is about embracing and caring for each other. Glenn Plaskin’s book will touch the heart of anyone who has ever loved a dog.”

Liz Smith
“Beg, borrow, buy or steal Glenn Plaskin’s wonderful interviews.”

PRICE

$10

REGISTER

Purchase Tickets Here!

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Yojani Hernandez, yhernandez@gaycenter.org, 212-620-7310

A Neighborhood Restaurant Opens Its Doors To ‘Katie,’ To Help Other Dogs

Posted November 23rd, 2010 in Friendship by Glenn Plaskin

Last Thursday evening, my favorite Battery Park City restaurant, Izzy & Nats, presented a glamorously-produced book signing for KATIE, all proceeds donated to AmsterDog, a non-profit animal rescue group founded by our charismatic neighbor Deb Dilorio.

Neighborhood Hero Deb Dilorio (Photo by the wonderful Maura Lynch of the Associated Press)

The evening demonstrated the remarkable way in which residents in Lower Manhattan band together to help one another–one of the main themes of my book.

Before and since 9/11, our little community has become an enclave all unto itself, the friendliness here worth noting. It’s virtually impossible to walk your dog without continually running into friends who say hello and stop to chat. It’s like a little resort.

This only proves that a family is anything you want it to be–whether human or canine, young or old, you name it, the only criteria being the affection and fun that binds it together.

Izzy & Nat's owner Brooke Phillips with me and my new puppy Lucy

I was so touched that more than 150 of my friends and neighbors came by to get a signed book–including little kids, young professionals, seniors in their 80’s and 90’s–and in the process, help Deb save abandoned cats and dogs from shelters and disaster sites–animals who would otherwise lose their lives.

Amazingly, all 100 books were gone in a few hours, with kids

State Senator Daniel Squadron (Photo by The Broadsheet's Robert Simko, a wonderful friend and supporter)

and adults receiving not only a book, but stuffed cocker spaniel toys and chocolate “dog bones” with Katie’s picture inscribed on each.

The owner of Izzy’s, Brooke Phillips, who has given her eatery a true family feeling, decorated the restaurant with lovely white roses and lilies,silver ornaments. Her friendly staff served mini-potato pancakes, smoked salmon, corned beef-and-pastrami

Photographer Sheila Williams and Life Coach Peg Wallis, both dear friends (Photo Maura Lynch)

sliders, and complimentary cocktails, not to mention the dog-bone cookies with Katie’s name inscribed on each of them.

I was especially helped during the evening by our able doorkeeper (and the world’s best book saleswoman)–Roberta Kahan–together with our volunteer cashier, the super-efficient Ana Bishop, who kept me and the line moving! For dozens of additional photos of the event, wonderful shots taken by the super-talented photographer Sheila Williams, please

My favorite Battery Park City Couple (Under the age of 30!) Anthony Goble and Katty Goble (Photo by Sheila Williams)

visit my Katie Up And Down The Hall Facebook Fan Page.

Dream Team: Roberta Kahan, Lee Blake, Ana Bishop, A Great Book Sales Trio (Photo by Peg Wallis)

And, of course, I was most touched by Brooke’s very generous show of support and warmth, opening her doors to the entire Battery Park City community. In fact, one of the key messages of my book is: OPEN YOUR DOOR, really a metaphor for opening your heart to those in need, whether it be an animal or a

person. If you just look around, you’ll always find a senior who needs a helping hand, a child who needs a mentor, or a dog that needs a walk. I sure

My Cousin Bunny, a lifelong friend and fan

did, which is how my book all started.

I was the one in need, having just adopted a puppy with no idea about how to train one. So I walked down my hallway, knocked on the door of an 80-year-old woman who was expert in training dogs, and I wound up with an entirely new life, filled with friendship and family. This one action led to all the events that unfold in KATIE UP AND DOWN THE HALL.

And so, to finish off this season of Katie’s book debut, what better way to celebrate it than having a neighborhood get together to help a neighbor. To me, that’s the true meaning of family, which is why our evening at Izzy & Nats was the best possible Thanksgiving–and it came a week early!