Keywords by David Yonke

One month and one day until the book comes out…

Now that the writing is done, and the release date is just a month away, I find myself in a very unusual situation.

I've written the best book that I can, about a subject that is unique and compelling. And basically all I can do now is wait and see how things go.

I will do what I can to promote the book, from appearing on talk shows to scheduling book signings, but I believe the best publicity is word of mouth. I'm hoping that you, dear reader, will read the book and like it and tell others about it.

When an author writes a book, he or she wants it to reach as many people as possible. Same with a musician who records a CD, or an artist who creates a painting. If you believe in what you're doing, when you create a work of art or a CD or a book, you don't want it to sit there and collect dust. You want to share it with others and reach the masses.

I am excited about my book and I am hoping for the best.

But I also realize there are many factors beyond my control.

And above all, God is in control. I will accept His will for me and for my book, just as I have followed His guiding hand throughout my adult life. I do the best I can in every area of life and then I walk in faith and strive to maintain my integrity and let God take care of the rest.

On a personal note, today is a very sad day for me. Sept. 5, 2006 would be my brother Roy's 50th birthday, but he passed away tragically three-and-a-half years ago from cancer. I miss Roy terribly and think about him all the time. It seems so unfair that Roy did not get the chance to live a long and fruitful life. Again, this is something that is beyond my control and I just have to lean on God and think that someday, when I get to heaven, I'll understand. For now, as the Bible says, "we see through a glass darkly." There are no easy answers to these questions. That's where faith comes into play. Faith is believing in things you cannot see. I pray for more faith, especially on a day like today. But I believe Roy is in heaven now, with a heavenly body free of pain and suffering. And that helps me through the sadness.

Sept. 5, 2006. Sylvania, Ohio.

Just found out that Continuum had to push back the book's release a week. That means it's coming out on Oct. 13 – a Friday. Good thing I'm not superstitious!

That caused a ripple effect, starting with my first scheduled book signing, at Barnes & Noble's, which had to be rescheduled from Oct. 14 to Nov. 4.

Meanwhile, I've added another book signing, at Fireside Books in Spring Meadows on Oct. 22, the only locally owned bookstore in Toledo. Owner Dennis Fennelly and Fireside really are supportive of local authors and are a pleasure to work with.

I've now got a book-release party scheduled at Murphy's Place on Oct. 19. I've known the club's owners, Joan Russell and Clifford Murphy, for a few decades now and when Joan found out I had no plans for a party, she offered to host one herself. How kind of her. I'm looking forward to it because I covered the Toledo music scene for so long and Murphy's Place is an oasis for world-class jazz. I hope to see many of the good friends I made over the years when I was covering music for The Blade.

I sure will be making the rounds in the local media when the book comes out… radio, TV, weekly papers, etc. I'll also have signings and talks coming up at the public library and two churches, Cornerstone and my own church, Calvary Assembly of God, and possibly at the University of Toledo.

I was afraid I might be overdoing it, but I've learned that an author can never do too much promotion. That's the advice of Christine Brennan, a Toledo native, award-winning sports columnist for USA Today, and best-selling author.

Christine, whom I called out of the blue, told me she gives talks and signs books everywhere she can, and even though she started feeling like she was "sick of hearing myself," it really is the best way to promote a book. And she should know. She's been there, done that. Christine was very gracious – said she's been reading my stuff for years -- and seemed to take a genuine interest in me and my little book. So go buy her new book, "Best Seat in the House."

A&E is airing a program this Saturday at 9 and Sunday at 1 a.m. with a segment on the Father Robinson murder trial, called "Unholy Toledo." Court TV also is working on a program about the case and will be in Toledo next week – at my house, actually, on Sept. 20 – for some taping. They are looking for more background and profile information on Father Robinson.

I found out today that Father Robinson has been moved from Lebanon Correctional Facility to Hocking Correctional Facility, a smaller and gentler Ohio prison in southern Ohio. Hocking is not a maximum security facility, has only 800 inmates, and is 80 percent Caucasian… More suitable for murderous priests, I guess.

To wrap things up for now, I went to Jon Hendricks' 85th birthday party tonight. Jon is a five-time Grammy Award winner, the inventor of Vocalese, a multifacted genius, and one of Toledo's real treasures. He's flying out to L.A. and to Oakland on Sunday for a small concert tour. Jon is one of my heroes and always an inspiration to me. Happy birthday Jon, and many, many more.

Sept. 13, 2006, Sylvania, Ohio

I thought things would be in a doldrums mode for awhile, from the time I finished writing the book until the day it's released.

But noooooo... Far from it. Things have been surprisingly interesting.

Last week, for example, I got a call saying that a group calling itself "Friends and Supporters of Father Robinson" posted a notice in the church bulletin for St. Hedwig's and St. Adalbert's -- the parishes are "twinned" and have the same pastor and share a bulletin -- about a chicken-dinner fund-raiser they are planning for Father Robinson on Oct. 8.

Mike Drabik, a parishioner, wrote to the bishop to complain about a diocesan church using its resources to help a convicted nun-killer raise money. Father Michael Billian, episcopal vicar, immediately responded by saying the diocese had told them NOT to run the ad.

I got copies of the email correspondence between Mr. Drabik and Father Billian, and a comment from local SNAP leader Claudia Vercellotti, and I wrote a story for The Blade that ran Wednesday at the top of Page 1.

Nobody is complaining about Robinson supporters raising money for the priest's defense fund. The problem is that they're using church property and resources to do it. If they do it on their own, outside of the church, that would be fine.

The priest obviously has the right to appeal the guilty verdict. I wish him the best, I really do. He ought to pursue the justice system as far as it will take him. But the Toledo diocese did not pay his attorney fees in his Lucas County Common Pleas Court murder trial and it has nothing to do with the appeal. By running announcements in parish bulletins, it falsely implies that the diocese is condoning the fund-raiser.

Not surprisingly, when I tried to find out who placed the bulletin ad, the church secretary wouldn't comment. Father Marek Ciesla, pastor, who normally is very responsive and who I consider to be a godly man, did not return my calls. I have a feeling the church secretary was the culprit, but whoever is responsible is not 'fessing up. I doubt the diocese will explore this any further unless, God forfend, another bulletin ad pops up somewhere.

In addition to the bulletin item, incidentally, the priest's supporters posted a flyer on the bulletin board. Mr. Drabik found it particularly insulting because the Robinson chicken dinner flyer was hanging above a poster announcing a Right-to-Life event.

People often ask me why we still call Father Robinson a priest. Well, the way the Roman Catholic Church functions, once a priest is ordained he is a priest for life, even if he has committed a heinous crime. While Robinson has been barred from ministry, meaning he cannot present himself as a priest to the public or perform any sacraments or Mass except for himself, he is technically still an ordained Catholic priest. He also has retired, quietly, but that does not end his ordination.

The only way a priest loses that status is if the Vatican laicizes him. This normally is done at the request of a priest, usually when he wants to leave the priesthood and get married. In rare cases, it can be initiated by the church. IMO (in my opinion), a priest convicted of murdering a nun would be such a case. But the Vatican is slow to move.

I saw Alan Konop and his wife, Barbara, at the Taste of Diversity last weekend in Toledo Botanical Garden. Alan is one of the finest lawyers around and a genuinely good person. I don't know why he chose to defend Father Robinson, but I felt sad for him and the other defense attorneys -- John Thebes, Nicole Khoury, and Jack Callahan -- when the priest was found guilty. Alan and team had worked hard and they raised all the right points in the priest's defense. But obviously it wasn't enough to persuade the jury to rule him innocent.

Alan asked me what I thought was the key evidence in the trial, and even though there was a lot, if you wanted to get to the crux of it all, I told him it was the three witnesses.

"You mean the ones who turned up late?" Alan asked.

True, the trio showed up late, relatively speaking, in the investigation. But when they showed up, their testimony was overwhelming. They said they saw Robinson outside the chapel doors around the time of the murder. Robinson had asserted all along that he never left his room at Mercy Hospital under after he got a call that Sister Margaret Ann had been killed.

Something didn't add up, and you had three people -- one of them a medical doctor -- saying one thing and the priest, who had admitted he lied to police in 1980, saying something else.

I once was involved in an accident, hit by a drunk driver (after a Madonna concert, but let's not get into that. I was working as a music critic). I gave the police my story, and the other guy, separately, gave his. Afterward, the policeman told me there was a great discrepancy but added, "I've been at this job a long time and I know who to believe".

Jurors didn't believe Father Robinson's alibi. They knew who to believe.

Sept. 23, 2006. Sylvania, Ohio