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Professor fight By Chris Handal Nobody ever said publishing a novel was p|| But then nobody said it was supposed to take more than six years of rejections, acceptances, deaths, corporate takeovers, more re jtxuuus aim linauy, anoiner acceptance. Although this may sound like the plot for an evening soap opera, it is the process Ben Greer has gone through with his third novel, tentatively titled "Time Loves a Hero." THE NOVEL had a tumultuous beginninn r.roor o I CnJlrl, U~ t " V vjiwi, u uijv- L^ii^usii piuicssui, aaiu 11c wg^\ visited a wealthy family in the East to discuss , ? plans for a film of his second novel, "Hallo- r ween" (no relation to John Carpenter's films). JP Life with the rich took its toll on the Columbia author. "I could have been psychologically destroyed by living with the family. Near the end, I was living in a log cabin in the woods without heat, electricity or running water. I wanted to stay up there so bad I was vomiting blood," he said in an he < interview two years ago. this Though no film resulted from the trip, Ir Greer examined what he calls his psychic the scars and started writing "Times Loves a Frar Hero" in 1978. fuse "In the spring of 1979. I submitted 150 pages of this novel to an editor who had T1 bouehf mv other twn hnnks " shmi agre< THE EDITOR was not pleased with what H< he read. According to Greer the editor called gooc the effort a "mistake, a misstep and a that misfire." recei "I was horrified," Greer said. "I was agre< depressed beyond words. Th "I went to a monastery in Georgia where L wort go occasionally. I talked to Brother Paul and revis b .Bh B t " I vto&Htt jr0ffb Give me that ole time rock Y roll USC students compete in the airband competition at th The Stones win ai By Morris Massre tior An enthusiastic crowd piled into the out Golden Spur Monday night for the third of dot four air band contests. nig The Stones, the winners of the competi- unc tion, won $40 and earned a chance to com- C pete with seven other bands in the finals. Th< Twelve bands competed to impress the par Spur's audience. Band members used thii anything from bicycle pumps to manne- this quins as musical instruments, and mimick- I ed songs such as "Private Idaho" by the ly. B-52's and "Jump" by Van Halen. The sho crowd was pleased with most of the perfor- mei mances, but did not hesitate to heckle nee hanHc nnl annpalino tr* thpm cr?r? Mrrvv,....e ^ avu Afier more than three hours of competi- sinj tion, the judges reached a decision. In ihiid 1 place was Throbbing Members, who put on Pla one of the more energetic performances. tioi They had a good idea of what today's the rock'n'roll image is really like and dressed per: properly for the occasion. They also had a C good mix of rock music. clu< Capturing the runner-up spot was Men r0( Without Pants. The band had a poor selec- Her s uphill battle Photo by Barbara Zammit >aid, 'You just have to understand that A co is just God's will.*" favorat i other words, Greer was told to give up agent, novel. "I came back to USC and told money lklin Ashley about it and he blew a ween." ." excited. HE TWO argued about whether Greer BUT ild continue with the novel. Finally Greer to chai ed to send it to one more publisher. ChaDin e chose Delacorte, and it seemed like a No. 2 i I choice. "That editor liked it so much and die she gave me five times the advance I had came d< ved for my first two books." Dell also ;d to publish the novel in paperback. A 40le novel, however, needed a good deal of of busii and Greer spent the next three years in New ing it. 4<I tli f ^ 1 , recen t ly MHflj ccssful i ' :1 ' busy tli |p| educatic v crea ? 'IWW1"1" - ^ M as cruci ^ ^HER the won Photo by Bryant Smith Addr e Golden Spur realized from th nor's o rknnrl X. Chrisur ludiiu uunitisi , Drefh tor ot i of music, but the audience got a kick gram, t< of their humorous antics. They un- a ibtedly had the most original act of the awaren< ;ht. They performed in their ^ast lergarments. $3,500 'apturing first place were the Stones. Theatre ;se were not the real Stones, but for the ^er- ^ t . TM lying crowci tncy were the next best i ncairc lg. Concert-goers got a real treat out of ; air band. 1 . ^he Stones acted out their parts brilliant- s"e s.a,( Unlike most of the other bands, their creatinj nThi w seemed planned and organized. Each . 1 mber of the band had the imagination a' ded to portray the actual Stones, and before U ~ A i ? i FnP v. may nave swuill inc 1CUC1 *"v ?er was Mick Jagger. variety wo bands who deserve mention are the puppet te Tectonics and the Doors of Percep- ^ast . m-.- T i. me i-iaic tectonics uia a taKeott ot l,,v; B-52's, and the Doors of Perception imdonated the Doors. Confidi )ther air bands in the competition in- g,r' w*,( Jed the Maggots, the Agents, Romper out *?' 3m, the Pranksters, Metapause, the diets and Pure Sterling. E women to publish th Dell a ? \ editor ) Gre I right i inis nc EV1 ent to a monastery in Georgia ?ew e I go occasionally. I talked to treat i ?r Paul and he said, ''you just , Thc sour o understand that this is God's WOrke Aft Greer ? USC professor to pui Ben Greer vik jected no. 1 J Arehe "SI 10 or nine c implete draft of the novel received She ?le reactions. Victor Chapin, Greer's Greer told Greer the book would make revisir unlike "Slammer" and "Hallo- ed in Greer's editor at Delacorte was Gre will n year. GREER'S good fortunes were about I'm sr ige. "Within three months Victor I thin died in his sleep," Greer said. The Gr< nan in the agency developed cancer appre d while the new man in the agency work "\il/n tirtf Vi o lit rrtt* /-J w/vYAi wini a nvv^i uiouiuci auu lciucu. AN year-old literary agency was now out some! less and Greer had no representative Provi York. allow; en called my editor and found out phras >C theater insti lotinitu tn fJfim *uiiviiy in ill ail hci next dramatic fivitv in ciir-h u;nrV ic v * * 4 * ** v>? I t\ 1J NEW cause is somewhat of a sur- said i: nee Dreher did not decide to focus on younj use in the way she deliberately chose model t the classic Greek melodrama about Stil nen of Troy. provk essing this latest social problem was "W , she said, when a representative ing S' e Public Safety Division of the gover- depre: ffice contacted her just before the Aft las holidays. idea c ;r said Ritchie Tidwell, deputy direc- "The the division's criminal justice proilephoned to ask if she could put on a tt__, imed at boosting third-graders' ;ss of child abuse. tlon a year, the program had spent about one gI to present a troupe called Illusion { , and money was tight, Tidwell told u >reher thought of her Children's child : class and said OK. severa .31 Il( EY DIDN'T know about the class," schoo J. "They just knew I had facility in I scripts. s is the first time I've made up my ?out exactly what we were going to do three the class even started." instructor's course has spawned a I)R of presentations ? for example, a forms show of Homer's "The Odyssey." sexual year, with only seven, women enroll- "T1 students came up with a feminist play to st< Idle-schoolers called "The T-shirt of teache snce." The show concerned a young "W 3 is ostracized when she decides to try stage the school football team. we're minim > SEMFSTKR seven men and seven "It are taking the course, which Dreher was cl ird novel ! nd Delacorte had been bought and my had been let go ? fired." er was told everything would be all and only an outside chance existed that >vel wouldn't be published, ERYTHING WASN'T all right. The ditor rejected the book. "I said, 'OK, 1 o into a suicidal depression or I can t as a challenge.'" >ugh Greer said this decision may id like philosophical bromide," it :d for him. er spending a few days depressed, said he started resubmitting the book blishers. ing kept it three months and then reit. Dutton kept it six weeks and said rhen Greer sent the novel to Shay ;art at Doubleday. IE KEPT it three and half months and 11 editors read the book and eight or >f them were solidly for it." gave him the news in early February, said he has about two more months of lg and then the book should be publishMav r?r Tnnp r?f 1QRS er said he is not upset that his novel ot be in bookstores for more than a "Well, it's not so hard now because nelling blood. It is not difficult because k it's the best book I've written." j :er described his first two novels as his nticeship. "This book is where my begins. I'm really delighted." ID GREER said he has learned :hing from this experience. "Maybe dence is so vast and so intricate that it s for free will and predestination. In a _ u : i.! 1 J! -1 1 c, 11 a inysiicai uicnoiomy. ructor adds na 'causes' m : ] I Ann Dreher With her Children's Theatre class, the USC instructor is creating an educational play about child abuse for presentation to area third-graders in late s important because the boys in their [ audiences "need guys as role Is." I, she cautioned, the horror of the topic ied an unusual challenge for her class, e got so depressed when we started doome scenes we decided it was too ssing for third-graders," she said, er much debate, the group hit upon the if fflchtrtnino a nn tnloi/icinn'r Gong Show." E'VE CREATED through improvisat this point," Dreher said. "So while oup is playing it out, another group of ; is madly taking notes." "gong" gimmick will be used to mark abuse as unacceptable behavior in il sketches or vignettes, she said. :e the play won't be presented at area Is until late April, however, work is lUUIg VJI1 IIIC SCI lpi . e're not sure yet whether we're going the panelists or we're going to select kids from the audience," she said. EHER SAID the show will touch on all of child abuse ? physical, mental and ? as well as child neglect. iv ua.->ic ?uai is 10 gei me aouseu cniid ip forward and get help from a r," she said. e're aiming for about 30 minutes" of time, the instructor said. "Of course, trying to keep the technical work to a um so the show can be more portable, hink it's flattering that our department losen for this."