Anyone in or around theP'cola area that would take a fast learning newbie under their wing I already have three books and I will be joining a local club that combines the local chapters of IBM and SAM my main focus is closeup cards PLEASE RESPOND!!

Your best bet is to find one in the club. After all that is where the local magicians congregate, and being a club member they will acknowledge you as a magician, not as someone who is just out to learn secrets. Clubs are great places to learn magic. You will find many helpful mentors in just about any local club

Yeah unfortunately it's a once a month thing and that makes it super hard cause I have SOOO many questions- but thanks anyway

Once you start making friends in the club, who says it has to be a once-a-month thing? I met my mentor at a club meeting and since then we've gotten together once or twice a week!

While I agree that it can be helpful to have an experienced friend in magic to go to for help or advice. I also agree with the others here that if you go to magic clubs or gatherings you'll certainly make some magic friends who you'll be able to call on for help.

But I need to ask you why you feel you need to find a mentor? I'm not questioning why one would be helpful, but it's not something you'll be able to ask someone to be for you. A mentor needs to strike you in some way that makes them am mentor to you. I don't think there are many out there who would ever try to be one.

There is an up side to this though. Many of the top magicians in the world are good at what they do because they didn't know to many other magicians. Some of the most creative magicians are people who had no choice but to create there own stuff because there was no one around to show them. They had to figure a lot of it out on there own and as a result they ended up being very original.

For this reason it's best to meet other magicians and respect them for individual reasons. For example I respect Dave Wiliamson for his ability to be entertaining in a unique way. Max Maven for his extensive knowledge. Carl Normal for his pure charm. Jay Marshell for his life time of performing and so on.

Having said all this. If you ever have a question or need any advice feel free to contact me. I'll help if I can. I'm sure many others in here would offer the same.

Ron Jaxon