Guest Post

Guest Chick: John Gaspard

We’re giddy to welcome John Gaspard to the coop! John is a verbal magician and multi-series author who recently released two books in his Eli Marks mysteries, including the ninth(!!) book in the series. Today John examines what happens when we conjure our heroes for a confab. John is also giving away one eBook copy (of the winner’s choice!) from the Albert’s Bridge Books site.

Work your magic and share this tale, John!

Meeting Your Heroes

Should you ever meet your heroes? I’ve heard arguments for and against.

Earlier this year, I got to meet Teller (of Penn & Teller fame), via Zoom for a podcast interview. Teller has mentored a friend of mine for years and so I thought mentorship might be a topic he’d want to discuss on my podcast. And I was right—he did.

However, things went south in the first ten seconds of our conversation. Here’s a rough transcript of what happened:

JOHN: The idea behind this conversation is to look at the value and importance of mentorship, both for the mentor and the mentee—

TELLER: Ah, stop. Stop right there. Stop right there.

(At this point my heart jumps directly into my throat. How could I have screwed up in my first sentence? Is he about to hang up? What have I done? What did I get so wrong so quickly?)

TELLER: The word mentee needs to be eliminated from our vocabulary.

JOHN (very tentatively): Does it really?

TELLER: Yes. Yes, it does. Mentor was a character in The Odyssey and is an old family friend of Odysseus’s family. Odysseus entrusted his son Telemachus to Mentor’s care and instruction. So, the corresponding thing to a mentor—that is, the person who is being mentored—you can refer to that person as a Telemachus. It is absolutely offensive to me—as an old Latinist—to hear the number of times that I hear mentee, which just makes me think of some kind of beverage, you know? I won’t have it. It sounds like a cocktail.

JOHN: Alright. Please forgive me. I had no idea that I would offend within my first two sentences.

TELLER: That’s because I’m particularly offendable on that particular point. The rest of the time, I’m just a golden, easygoing guy, except when it comes to the misuse of classical terms.

And to his credit, he was a golden, easygoing guy for the remainder of the conversation. He was, in fact, a delight.

So, should you meet your heroes? Most probably, yes. And who knows? Your hero might end up being just as human as you are—maybe a little quirky, maybe a little opinionated, but ultimately a person you can connect with on a deeper level.

In my case, not only did I learn about the classical roots of the term ‘mentor’, but I also got to witness Teller’s passion for language and history firsthand. It was a stark reminder that even our heroes, our idols, are people too, with their own unique interests and pet peeves.

So, the next time you’re sipping on a cocktail, raise a glass to mentorship, and to the unexpected lessons that come from meeting our heroes.

And remember, if you’re ever chatting with Teller, never, ever, use the word ‘mentee’. You have been warned!

Friends, have you met one of your heroes? If not, would you like to? If so, how did it go?

About John Gaspard

John is author of the Eli Marks mystery series and the Como Lake Players mystery series. He also has several other stand-alone novels, including three other greyhound inspired pastiches: “The Greyhound of the Baskervilles,” “The Greyhound & Gatsby” and “A Christmas Carl.”

About THE PROFESSOR’S NIGHTMARE and THE CURIOUS MYSTERIES OF ELI MARKS

John’s most recent works of fiction are the ninth book in his Eli Marks series (“The Professor’s Nightmare”), as well as a prequel to the Eli Marks series, “The Curious Mysteries of Eli Marks.”

New release “The Professor’s Nightmare” is available here:  https://www.elimarksmysteries.com/ – /the-professors-nightmare-book-9/

“The Curious Mysteries of Eli Marks,” about thirteen-year-old Eli when he started learning magic, contains ten mysteries for readers to solve, along with ten magic tricks they can learn. You can find it here:  https://www.elimarksmysteries.com/ – /the-curious-mysteries-of-eli-marks/

You can hear the entire conversation with Teller here:  https://www.elimarksmysteries.com/eli-marks-podcast/episode-309-magicians-teller-amp-michael-callahan-talk-about-mentoring-and-an-eli-marks-short-mystery

John lives in Minneapolis and shares his home with his lovely wife, two greyhounds, a couple cats and a handful of pet allergies.

19 thoughts on “Guest Chick: John Gaspard”

  1. Hestia here,
    I guess I’ve been schooled. I use mentee all the time!
    Hero I’d like to meet? I guess it depends on the definition of hero. I’ve met one. My father. He made me who I am, the good, the bad, and the ugly of me. But there’s nothing I regret about me, nothing I’d truly wish I would change. Because everything about me is from him. I love him.

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  3. I recently learned that he was a classical scholar, and this proves it! Thanks for the insight, and the actual words from the silent half of that duo. –Kaye George

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  4. Thanks for being here, John! How exciting to have interviewed Teller! (And I’m guilty of using the word “mentee”…)

    Congrats on all your books! At the last Bouchercon, I finally got up the nerve to talk to Tess Gerritsen, whom I’d hovered around at a different conference but never said hello to–she’s lovely, by the way. I also got to chat with Kate Carlisle, who is very kind and encouraging to her fellow writers.

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  5. I’ve actually read “The Odyssey,” but had forgotten that Mentor was a character. Now I’m trying to figure out who Mentor is in James Joyce’s “Ulysses.” Odysseus is Leopold Bloom and Telemachus is Stephen Dedalus. But maybe Bloom is both Odysseus AND Mentor…. I must discuss this with my fellow Joyceans.

    As for my heroes, well, as many of you know, I was fortunate enough to cook dinner for and spend the evening with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which was a marvelous experience!

    Thanks so much for visiting the Chicks today, John, and congrats on the new releases!

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    1. Thanks Ellen — I’ve got a note on my calendar that we’ll be chatting next week. I’ll get a zoom link to you soon.

      John Gaspard

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  8. Looks like my “Likes” and comments are coming in under the name Annonymous, but I’m loving all these comments. Thanks so much for reading the blog!

    John Gaspard

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  9. Nice to meet you, John–welcome to Chicks, and congrats on your latest! So glad things turned out well with your interviewee (that term is safe, right?). I was a figure skater as a kid, and my dad drove me from CT to Cape Cod to see an ice show starring Peggy Fleming.. Afterward, we stood for hours in a long line of adoring fans for a meet-and-greet. She kept sighing and looking bored and rolling her eyes and making side comments to her publicist, who sat beside her. When it was finally my turn, she didn’t even glance my way (I think I was 9 or so) and scribbled her name on my program so fast she didn’t even notice it was upside down. I cried the whole 2 hour trip home. I think of my former idol every time I sit at a signing table, lol.

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    1. Lisa, sorry to read that story about Peggy Fleming.

      Here’s a contrasting story about Penn & Teller: After each show, they stand in the lobby and talk to anyone and everyone who wants to chat or get an autograph or take a picture. I mean, everyone. They stay there until the last person has left.

      John Gaspard

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  10. The winner of a free book from Albert’s Bridge Books is … Liz Milliron!

    Liz, I’ll reach out to you via your website.

    Thanks everyone for stopping by and chiming in!

    John Gaspard

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