“The Karla Peterson Effect”:What one columnist’s influence does for an indie author.

“Talk about a dream/ trying to make it real…”

Bruce Springsteen’s lyrics that are the “ties that bind” a former teacher turned author to a veteran columnist.

This essay is one that Karla Peterson would never author about herself. Yesterday,she shared that the newspaper would only print an essay applauding one of theirown only if they died or won a Pulitzer Prize — and that was highly unlikely! I knew if the story ever got out, it would be up to me to write it. Why?

If you know Karla Peterson, even superficially as I do, you will learn that she is the personification of humility. This is contrary to some major newspaper columnists, for whom tooting their own horn is part of the gig. Not Karla.

As a matter of fact, when she interviewed me recently for her review of my newest novel, Karla told me that she really didn’t know the effect of her writing makes on the readers for the San Diego Union-Tribune — or the affect, for that matter. I was flabbergasted and I am planning on making sure that in just my small sample size — Karla Peterson moves mountains.

We met in unusual circumstances. I read her 2002 essay on the power and wisdom of Bruce Springsteen’s album The Rising, which was inspired by the tragedy of 9.11. I was planning on teaching selections from that album to my juniors at Mt. Carmel High…