Why Jim Steinmeyer Has Been Writing the Book that You Won ’ t Read

“ I think that only eight people will read it ,” he explains . Then , after a long pause , he adds : “ Really ! That ’ s my calculation , anyway , and right now , I suppose that I ’ ll decide .” Over the last year , Steinmeyer took the opportunity to finish work on a number of routines in his notebooks , stand-up and stage effects that he ’ d felt were especially interesting . “ The book contains routines that should be of use to stage performers , right now as they plan shows . I want those routines to be of use down the line , whenever stage magic comes back . When new material , with a different feeling , will have an impact .”

For months , he had planned to put it in a book . “ Right now , live entertainment doesn ’ t give us any opportunities . Even more important , for the last ten years , stage magic really hasn ’ t been supported by the fashions within magic . So , working on new material was like driving down a highway towards a brick wall . It doesn ’ t really matter how nice the drive is , right ? You ’ ve got to think about where you ’ re heading .”

The problem , Steinmeyer explains , is the market for books about stage magic and illusions . “ Those books have never really been regarded or understood by magicians . I think that there ’ s a feeling , among most magicians , that a book about illusions is supposed to be filled with diagrams and dimensions . You know , ‘ How to build a bevel base ,’ as if that ’ s the secret of magic . Magicians want to put that sort of book on the shelf , and then point to it and think , ‘ If I ever wanted ,