Boredom inspires tale about coffee obsessed hero
By ANDREA BROWN-HURLEY andreabh@herald-mail.com
Inspired by boredom, Arthur LaVigne became A.H. LaVigne the author.
The Hagerstown resident said he had nothing better to do in his spare time so he sat down at his home computer to craft a witty story about a dull, coffee obsessed chap who falls "neck deep" into an intriguing world of spies, conspiracies and aliens.
"The Incredibly Boring Life of Peter Black" was recently published by Sweetgrass Press of New Hampshire.
The 204 page novel is available at Borders Books, Barnes & Noble book store, Amazon.com. and numerous other locations.
LaVigne, an Allegheny Energy computer specialist and professional square dance caller with no previous writing experience, still can't believe he wrote a book or that it was good enough to get published and widely distributed, he said.
"I never planned to be an author. I was just bored to tears and I started writing," said LaVigne, 37.
"I feel I'm just a storyteller and I told my story. I don't consider myself a word artist. I'm not even a big reader. I wrote this book for myself. I had no inkling of getting it published."
LaVigne mined his active imagination to weave his science fiction comedy tale, he said.
He wanted to develop a main character that could grow with the book's plot, so LaVigne invented a predictable man who had nowhere to go but up.
Computer analyst Peter Black wanted little more from life than a good cup of coffee.
"Change wasn't safe. Peter liked being safe even if he hated it," LaVigne wrote.
Through a series of often humorous plot twists and turns, Black's life becomes entangled with that of his super suave alter ego, Blake Rock. This intertwining of characters leads to some strange happenings involving secret agents, extraterrestrials and a coffee maker?
The author wouldn't elaborate.
"You'll have to read the book," he said.
LaVigne never experienced writer's block. The words "just seemed to flow" from his imagination to his typing fingertips, he said.
"The book wrote itself in a sense. It had a life of its own," LaVigne said. "The characters began speaking by themselves. I would be typing and I would literally be anxious to see what was going to happen next. It would surprise me."
But LaVigne found himself stumped on an exciting, unexpected ending. Inspiration struck while he was lying in bed before work, he said,
"It just popped into my head and I started laughing. I got an ending that no one would expect," LaVigne said. "I still smile when I read it."
The book's conclusion leaves the door open for a sequel, which LaVigne is now in the process of writing, he said.
Though LaVigne and his "coffee achiever" protagonist share a profession and love of Colombian Java, that's where the similarities end, he said.
But like Peter Black, LaVigne stumbled, into an adventure that has changed his outlook on life.
He explored the unfamiliar territory of proper word usage and punctuation, experienced the pain of criticism and the triumph of praise, and persevered on his virgin artistic journey to create a work that will live beyond his time.
"I've learned that a person can do more than they ever expected they could do if they put their mind to it," LaVigne said. "When I'm gone, there will still be copies of this book around. That's an incredible feeling."
LaVigne will be signing copies of "The Incredibly Boring Life of Peter Black" at Borders Books in The Centre at Hagerstown on July 28.
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