Video of appearance on Sacramento & Co.

Yesterday I was a guest on Sacramento and Co., a morning show on ABC affiliate KXTV 10. I'm feeling pretty comfortable with the interview thing, and am ready to go national. Any takers?

Video of NBC11 Story from last night.

On Channel 11 Tonight in SF Bay Area

If you're in the San Francisco Bay Area, check out the NBC11 News tonight at 11 P.M. and you might see me. The interview I did last week has been turned into a segment that is supposed to air on tonight's news.

Of course, as with all things media (as I'm becoming inreasingly, and painfully aware), the segment is subject to being bumped by something more important.

But assuming it airs, it's on right after a Law & Order episode guest-staring Kathleen Turner, and right before the Tonight Show. So put down that book and turn your TV to channel 11, and you can't go wrong.

New photos

I've posted several new photos on the book photo tour page.

This hemp cloth fact of fraud event

I love online language translation engines. Although they've come a long way, the results they spew forth are almost always amusing, and sometimes downright unintelligible, especially for Asian languages, which seem particularly resistant to being translated by algorithm.

The Wired News story about FAKE: Forgery, Lies, & eBay was translated for Wired News Korea, and I ran it through Google Translate just for fun.

The title of the article, which is "An eBay True Crime Story," came out as:

This hemp cloth fact of fraud event.

"Hemp cloth" is apparently the translation for eBay.

My name translates to "Month it sprouted."

A passage from the question and answer portion of the article was translated as such (WN = Wired News):

WN: This hemp cloth controls sternly on the technique wild middle where you are bitter and above is the method which is impossible how many more in order for the people to come to be more shrewd?

Month it sprouted: After the hemp cloth being salty rightly the scandal breaks, it controls bidding which it does very, sternly sale it sleeps but it bid oneself in the thing of oneself and the person who knows bids the fact that far with difficult it made. Them also the hazard which controls like that situation the software which is complicated very established. It above will be more skillful wrongly and it will boil and it will not talk. It thinks but it came to be difficult positively far. This hemp cloth it was accomplished a huge development in indebtedness and. Will be a direct result regarding the dissatisfaction which rise to cone scandal after where it cuts the D probably.

The article even prompted some comment from readers. One had this to say:

Auction with the Internet advertisement crisis this hemp cloth with fraud pilgrimage.

Reading/signing in San Francisco tonight.

Tonight (Wednesday, May 17) at 7:30 I'll be reading from and answering questions about my book FAKE: Forgery, Lies, & eBay at Books, Inc., 2251 Chestnut Street, in the Marina District of San Francisco.

The event is free, and of course, you don't have to buy anything, but if you bring a copy of the book or buy one there, I'll be happy to sign it for you.

Afterwards, we drink.

Hope you can make it.

Do I know the way to San Jose?

I thought I did. But somehow, I took a couple of wrong turns after leaving Courtenay's apartment in Presidio Heights and didn't find my way onto 101 South until I hit the Cesar Chavez onramp in the Mission District. For those of you unfamiliar with San Francisco, this is a very stupid way to go. I'm just so used to heading toward the Bay Bridge when I leave her place and, well, this time I needed to go the opposite way.

This foolishness made me fifteen minutes late for my interview with Channel 11 technology and business reporter Scott Budman. I've heard it is very unfashionable to be late for television interviews. But Mr. Budman was very gracious about the whole thing, and invited me inside the studio with a handshake and a smile.

This was the first time I'd done an "in-studio" television appearance, and I was a bit overwhelmed by the cavernous size of the place. This is a big-city station, and the newsroom looked like something you'd see in the background of a CNN broadcast, with people bustling among their cubicles and a giant row of giant clocks pointing out the time in various parts of the world.

Mr. Budman led me back to a dark, black-walled studio with blue-screens and we sat in directors chairs facing one another. He asked some good questions, I talked, and it was all over in 20 minutes. If all goes as planned, the report should air later this week. (Althought I've learned already that not everything that gets produced by reporters gets printed or broadcast.) I'll let you know as soon as I find out more.

The Channel 11 Studios are, as fate would have it, just down the street from eBay headquarters. I couldn't pass by without stopping by to say hello.

Audio of appearance on Capital Public Radio

Click here to listen to a clip of my appearance on the show Insight, which aired on monday on Capital Public Radio, the regional NPR affiliate.

My publicist said it sounded very "NPR," and I think she's right. But you can't help but sound that way when you're in-studio. Everyone in the place is mellow and intellectual, and by time you sit down in front of the big foam microphone, you find yourself talking softly and thoughtfully, like a late-night Jazz DJ.

Audio of Radio appearance on KCTC

I've uploaded a clip of last week's appearance on the Scott & Sims show.

The audio quality is not the greatest, the volume is a little low, and it gets cut off before the end, but if you really want to hear what I sound like at 8:00 A.M, you may listen here.

Artfakes.dk

Today I was surprised and honored to find my book at the top of artfakes.dk, a fantastic (and humorous) site that tracks art forgeries being sold online. I've watched this site on and off for some time, and can tell you that the man who runs it, Prebuen Juul Madsen, has a sharp eye and a sharp wit.

If you've ever wondered if fake art is still being sold online, this site will answer your question with plenty of full-color examples.

For an even more interesting read, check out the artfakes blog, which tracks fakes being sold on eBay right now. Click on them and you'll see them live on eBay (or recently ended). You may be surprised at how much some of them are going for.

I'm not.

Thank you, Sacramento. (photos)

Saturday's bookstore appearance at Barnes & Noble in Sacramento was a big success, and I thank you all for showing up. I was told that about 72 people attended (although it didn't seem like quite that many to me).

I was ready-to-puke-on-my-shoes nervous for the first ten minutes (my sister-in-law said I looked "grey"), but then started to relax. People kept asking question after question, and the next thing I knew, I'd been up there for an hour, and I had to cut it off so I could sign books.

The biggest surprise of the day came when a woman in the signing line said she was one of the criminal investigators who worked on my case. I remembered her from a meeting I had with the prosecutors. If you're reading this, thank you for coming by, and please say hello to your colleagues. Saturday night was the party at Sofia, and that was even more fun than the signing. For me, anyway. I hope the rest of you enjoyed it.

If you live in Iran and want to buy my book . . .

You can order it from IranBin.com. It costs 138,000 of, um, whatever you call your currency, and another 250,000 for shipping and handling. I'll bet that's kind of expensive.

I'm not sure why, but I find it amusing that it is even possible to order my book from Iran. I'm easily amused.

They take Visa & MasterCard, by the way. But not American Express.

Top story on Wired News today!

Wired News posted its piece about FAKE: Forgery, Lies, & eBay today, and made it their top story. I've been reading this site, the online companion to Wired Magazine, for years, since back when it was called "HotWired." It was, as a matter of fact, the first website to ever display a paid banner ad (a controversial proposition at the time).

The story will get bumped down from the top of the page by tomorrow, but I must admit it was a thrill to see my face positioned just inches of the face of Mark Mothersbaugh, the founder of Devo, and humbling to see that my story had been positioned above the one about him. The man is an icon.

On the radio today, 2:40 PM PST (Listen worldwide)

Just a quick reminder that I'll be appearing on Capital Public Radio on the show Insight, which airs today at 2:00 Pacific Time. I'm scheduled to go on at about 2:40.

The show broadcasts on five stations in Northern California and Nevada, and can be heard worldwide through streaming audio, available through their website (click the link to listen live to KXJZ)

Live, on stage, today

Well, it's not really a stage, is it? It's a small podium set up in the children's section of the Barnes & Noble on Arden Way in Sacramento.

But it's my first public appearance, and I'm nervous, but I would be thrilled if you would stop by and say hello. If you have a book with you, I'll write my name in it. I will not, contrary to popular rumor, be signing body parts.

Today, Saturday, 2:00 PM.

My friends are throwing me a party afterwards at Sofia, at 11th and H, starting at 7:00 PM. If you're reading this, you're invited. There will be free food, expensive drinks, and complimentary VIP passes to the club upstairs, if you're inclined to hang out for that long.

My book is on the front page of the Sacramento Bee

Well, a small picture of it, anyway. At the very bottom of the page. But it is in color, and what is most important about it is that it refers to a big story on the front page of the metro section. About, of course, my book.

All week, I've known this was going to appear, and I was worried about it. But I really like how it turned out. Blair Robertson did a great job of summarizing the story of the eBay scandal and its aftermath, and made the book sound intriguing. I think he did, anyway, but I am not an unbiased observer.

Book review in Sacramento News & Review

A full-page review of FAKE appears in this week's issue.

Kerry Jackson says "Walton has written a well-paced insider’s account of a compelling story . . . Despite his ethical lapse, the author comes across as intelligent, resourceful, energetic, and a pretty good writer to boot. His story has enough momentum and suspense to hook, and hold, any reader who has ever been tempted, even a bit, to do something wrong."

View it as it appears in print here.

Upcoming Northern Cal./ Nevada radio appearances

I'll be appearing on a couple of Northern California/Nevada radio shows over the next several days, talking about my new book FAKE (and other stuff, I hope)



Friday, May 5, 8:00 AM
Scott & Sims
KCTC AM1320, Sacramento's Left Channel (Air America)



Monday, May 8, 2:00 (interview to air approx. 2:40)
Insight
Capital Public Radio
88.9 KXJZ Sacramento
91.3 KUOP Stockton
90.5 KKTO Tahoe City/Reno
88.7 KXJS Sutter
88.1 KQNC Quincy

Video of my first television appearance

Here is the result of my first television interview about the book.

It's still difficult for me to watch details about the scandal be dredged up like this, this many years down the road, but I thought Warren put together a pretty good report. I wish he'd mentioned the signing this coming Saturday at Barnes & Noble, but I appreciated that he mentioned it the KXTV website version of the story, and linked to my website. I also liked that he mentioned that I paid all of my ordered restition ($75,000).

I'll be on Channel 10 News tonight in Sacramento

I was interviewed today by George Warren of Sacramento's News10, the local ABC affiliate. The segment should be on tonight's 6:00 news, and may also be on the 9:00 and 11:00 broadcasts as well. It may even appear on tomorrow's 5:00 AM broadcast.

Mr. Warren was very nice, familiar with the story behind the book, and asked good questions. But it was the first time I'd done a television news interview, and something felt oddly staged about it. Keep in mind that we taped for nearly an hour for a segment that will likely be no longer than 90 seconds. So there was a lot of taping. They taped me pulling up in my car. They taped me getting into my car and driving off at the end (and let me tell you, it's very strange to wrap things up, shake hands, say goodbye, and have a camera pointing at you as you walk to your car, start it up, and drive away).

We recorded the first part of the interview at the Starbucks across the street from the Federal Courthouse. At one point, Warren and his cameraman asked me to walk over to the courthouse, emerge from the courtyard in front of it, and walk across the street towards the camera outside Starbucks. I suppose this will make it look as if I just happened to be doing a little business over there. Which I don't. Ever. I avoid the place like it's the gate to Hell.

It was fun, but to be honest, I'm cringing at the thought of seeing myself on television. If I had to guess about such things, I would guess that I am not very telegenic.

Roaming around bookstores, watching strangers read what I wrote.

I was in San Francisco this weekend with Courtenay, and we decided to visit some bookstores so I could sign copies of FAKE. This is one thing that's fun about getting something published -- you can walk into any bookstore, tell them your book is on the shelf, and sign the copies they have in stock. Then they put "autographed copy" stickers on the books and sometimes move them to more prominent locations. And they're always very friendly.

Our first stop was Books, Inc. on Chestnut, where I'll be speaking on May 17. They only had two copies of FAKE in the store, but have 35 more on order. I learned that I would be speaking in the back of the store, in the children's section (after all the children have been forcibly removed, of course).

Next stop was the Borders on Union Square, which had a couple dozen copies stocked in several locations. Here I am pretending to check out the new Philip Roth novel in the new releases section (and standing next to a stack of you-know-whats, with "autographed copy" stickers on them). Philip Roth is a hell of a writer. I wish I could write like Philip Roth. Actually, this is what I am doing in this photo -- wishing I could write as well as Philip Roth.


This store even had it stocked behind the cash register, next to the new Sebastian Junger book. This is premium placement, because a lot of people know who Sebastian Junger is, and will look at his book, and might accidentally also look at my book in the process:


Not all stores were as optimistic about the chances for FAKE to be a bestseller. The Barnes & Noble near Fisherman's Wharf had only a single copy in stock, hidden spine-out in the true crime section upstairs. I was hoping they must have sold all the others they had in stock, but was disappointed to learn that they'd only gotten one from their distributor.

There seems to be little reason (and no rhyme at all) to this bookstore placement. Some stores received a bunch of copies, like the one on Union Square. Others received five or six. And some received only one or two. No one seems be able to explain why.

Things got fun at the Borders at Stonestown Plaza. They had two copies in the true crime section and four up front on the new releases table, and let me sign them all. As I was doing this, a woman noticed and started talking to me. She was fascinated by the story and ended up buying a copy.

I walked around and looked for Courtenay, and when I passed back by the new releases table, I noticed two people standing in front of it, each of them flipping through a copy of FAKE, just browsing, reading the jacket cover and snippets of my writing. Neither of them bought it (at least not right them), but it was still strangely gratifying to see them considering it.

We walked around the mall for about twenty minutes and, before we returned to the car, I had to take one more peek inside Borders, just to check.

I was glad I did. Two more copies had been sold. In the course of half an hour, three of the store's six copies had been snatched up. The "autographed copy" stickers seem to work.