Jeremy DiMaio The Church of Perpetual Boogie

by Paul Seiple

stunning yet neglected building lured DiMaio in. The potential for adaptive reuse of the church hooked him. “The opportunity to give an old building a new life is an exciting challenge. Historic church buildings always have a story to tell, offer amazing architecture, and a challenge to create a utilitarian space that still honors the original reverence of the structure.”

The concept for the Church of Perpetual Boogie is of an inside joke for DiMaio. “About 7 years ago, I purchased an unusual home in Afton, Virginia, that was originally built by an eccentric inventor. That house is primarily an Airbnb rental. It’s weird and people love it.” While creating the original listing, he referred to the home as a “Boogie Nights Manor aesthetic, paying homage to its late 1970s meets mid-century vibe.” The rental was a hit with guests, and the name Boogie Nights Manor stuck.

“When I bought the church at 200 Jefferson Avenue, christening the structure The Church of the Perpetual Boogie seemed a perfect extension to the theme and brand. And, given that name now appears on Google Maps, there’s no changing it,” DiMaio said.

Aesthetically, DiMaio finds harmony by blending new life, in creative and interesting ways, with historic preservation into his properties. He added, “Two years ago, I owned zero religious furnishing or decorations; now the collection is 100 plus and growing.” One item is a 30-foot-wide hand-painted Last Super mural. “I want folks to smile as they experience this place, yet also learn about the history of the building. My intent is to thematically incorporate representations of many diverse faiths into the décor.”

When asked about the completion of the project, DiMaio joked, “Well, it took over 150 years for the church to get to this point, so hopefully, I’m at least halfway there.”

The plan is to have the living areas of the church complete by midto-late 2023. The space will be about 4,000 square feet. “I want to provide guests a lodging option and experience that enhances their stay in our community,” DiMaio said.

The remaining 5000 square feet of the church houses the sanctuary and will take longer to renovate. “Last year, we focused on making the sanctuary space structurally sound, so most of the improvements have been invisible. As the building had been largely abandoned for more than a decade, I felt strongly that it first needed to be stabilized and protected.”

Inside the sanctuary, there is a 123-year-old Moller organ. Lighting is courtesy of huge 19th century stained-glass windows. The original walnut pews are still in place. “Ideally, it will become a community space that can be enjoyed and used by the community in a creative and artistic manner,” DiMaio said.

For DiMaio, preserving the history of the church is the most important thing. He added, “I can tell you there are no intentions of chopping the space up and doing something that doesn’t respect its history as a community gathering space. A small music venue would be kinda cool, right?”

For more information and to follow the revitalization visit, boogiechurch.com.

Before you begin writing, you may want to focus on your list of ideas. Ideas you may have decided are excellent topics. In fact, some of those ideas may serve as shorthand reminders regarding incidents you’re certain are worth developing into a short story or a novel.

As excited as you are about beginning, you’ve taken my advice to create a brief outline. Even if it’s just a few lines, it will serve as a platform, a foundation for your work.

That’s why, when you’ve finally begun to type your exciting first sentence (you know it will be exciting because I’ve suggested that your first sentence must grab your readers to hold their attention), you may be struck by a concern for the people who comprise your closest circle of friends.

Since your story may include a number of them, you begin to wonder whether any of them may be offended by your version of the truth you want to share. That concern rightfully haunts you.

Should you tell them what you plan to write before you begin? Ask their permission? Get them to sign an agreement that they won’t sue you?

As a result of such considerations, your fingers, having been ready to dance on your computer’s keys, feel leaden. You imagine the ‘true story’ articles your local newspaper might publish about what you’ve written. You worry that those articles may provide even more details than you ever wanted to share.

Considering that, you stop and stare into your nearby mirror. What if one of your subjects decides to reciprocate by writing their version — about you?

That may be a viable concern, especially if you don’t have documented proof of all of your claims. Even if you find old photos taken at the time of the incident, those images may not offer much protection.

That’s why you may want to consider dispensing with a tell-all novel and, instead, compose a completely fictitious set of characters who live in a city you’ve created that has only a passing resemblance to your own. As for your ‘new’ characters who resemble real people, you may want to give them a different sex than that of the ones who inspired you.

Once you have a workable list of characters, you’ll find it’s easier to create a city — or country — where the characters reside. Only then should you focus on writing your all-important first sentence, perhaps one of the most important in your book.

Often that sentence is described as the hook that catches your readers’ attention. Rather than try to prescribe such a sentence, I’ll suggest you locate a few of your favorite books. In each of them, read the first sentence, the first paragraph, and the first page.

Take notes about what each of those ‘firsts’ have in common. Write about what you enjoyed about each one.

by Barry Koplen

Once you’ve completed those notes, laminate them! Keep that well-preserved lamination near your computer. Refer to it often. Use it to assist you as you start your book, determine its direction and pace.

If you’d like, you may want to read the first page of my first LIFESAVERS book, Letters to loves Above is a picture of its cover. I’ll end this piece with its first two sentences and my final note of encouragement: enjoy every page you write, whether it’s fact or fiction!

Just because she knew how to sew didn’t make her special. To look at her, most would think Piri was a model others might sew for…