Barry Brennessel

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Barry Brennessel

Goodreads author profile


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born
in Dansville, New York, The United States
January 01

gender
male

website

genre

member since
March 2011


About this author

When Barry’s first collection of stories was read aloud by his second grade teacher, the author hid in the bathroom. As the years flew by, he wrote more, hid less (not really), and branched out to Super 8 films and cassette tape recorders. Barry’s audience—consisting solely of friends and family—were both amused and bemused.

Since those childhood days, Barry has earned degrees in English and French from the State University of New York College at Brockport, and a Master of Arts in Writing from the Johns Hopkins University.

Tinseltown, a Finalist in the 24th Annual Lambda Literary Awards, is Barry’s first novel.

His second novel The Sulphur Cure is now available from L&L Dreamspell. Reunion, a collection of linked stories, is now available...more


The Celestial and The Sulphur Cure are both Finalists in the 2013 Next Generation Indie Book Awards!
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Published on May 06, 2013 15:48 • 8 views
Average rating: 4.25 · 153 ratings · 60 reviews · 12 distinct works · Similar authors
Tinseltown
4.37 of 5 stars 4.37 avg rating — 49 ratings — published 2011 — 3 editions
The Celestial
4.6 of 5 stars 4.60 avg rating — 30 ratings — published 2012 — 3 editions
The Sulphur Cure
3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 16 ratings
All the Souls on Earth
3.54 of 5 stars 3.54 avg rating — 13 ratings — published 2011 — 2 editions
Reunion
4.57 of 5 stars 4.57 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2012 — 3 editions
The Price of Silence
4.33 of 5 stars 4.33 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 2011 — 4 editions
Reflections
4.17 of 5 stars 4.17 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 2012
Firenze (Crossroads, #2)
3.67 of 5 stars 3.67 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 2012
Sete (Crossroads, #1)
3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2011 — 2 editions
Dubrovnik (Crossroads, #3)
0.0 of 5 stars 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
More books by Barry Brennessel…
Sete Firenze Dubrovnik
Crossroads (3 books)
by
3.727272727272727 of 5 stars 3.73 avg rating — 11 ratings

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The Curtain Wall (Gay & Lesbian)
1 chapters   —   updated Jan 26, 2013 12:00pm
Description: Free short story written as part of the Goodreads Gay-Straight Alliance Group's "Traveling to Better" series. My topic is "Bullying in Schools."
The Sulphur Cure (Literature & Fiction)
1 chapters   —   updated Sep 05, 2011 05:13pm
Description: Vincent Rhodes, an artist whose family fortune has been lost in the Great Depression, receives four rambling letters from his brother, Theo, who went missing during the first Great War in Europe. Though postmarked April 1933, from Claremont, New Hampshire, the letters are dated 1918, the year Theo disappeared. Vincent leaves his Brooklyn flat to find him. Based on clues from the letters, Vincent tracks Theo to his last-known location: a decaying New England health resort known to locals as the Sulphur Cure. There he meets Helen Sage-Brown, the last descendant of the original owners. Though Vincent is convinced his brother was at this strange complex, Miss Sage-Brown insists that she has never seen him. As Vincent digs deeper into the lives of the eccentric residents in search of answers, he finds there is more to this place than sagging floors and broken windows. He discovers that the people inhabiting the old grounds have as many secrets as he does, and that his life will change forever once those secrets come to light.
Excerpt from Crossroads (Sete, #1) (Gay & Lesbian)
1 chapters   —   updated Aug 30, 2011 09:32am
Description: Brandon Meier’s academic year in Europe takes him far beyond museums, castles, and classrooms. When he embarks on a month-long rail journey, his sightseeing includes an edgy French boy, a Carravagio-esque Italian, a rich Swiss lad, a Croatian heartbreaker, and an Indonesian beauty in Amsterdam, to name but a few. These are lessons no textbook can ever teach. It’s not long before Brandon realizes that the best sightseeing is almost always off the beaten path. From sultry nights in saunas, to midnight strolls in seemingly endless parks, chance encounters in sleepy seaside towns and nights of wining, dining, BMW convertibles and penthouse apartments, Brian’s year in Europe is anything but “by the textbook.”
The Price of Silence (Mystery & Thrillers)
1 chapters   —   updated May 04, 2011 10:14am
Description: Each of their meetings had been a disaster. He paid her to get lost, and thought he’d rid himself of her for good. But then he found the party invitation stuffed in his mailbox. Was he suspicious? Indeed. Should he fear for his safety, sanity, and Swiss bank accounts? Oh, you bet. Nathan Tanyon’s encounters with a ditzy social climber are hardly by chance. Helena Arntree claims to have far more detail about the death of Nathan’s wealthy aunt than those presented to the police. Nathan insists she has it all wrong. But when she manipulates him into some compromising positions that might harm his credibility, he ends up paying her a healthy sum to keep her mouth shut and go away. So she vanishes. At least for a while. Two years later, she invites him to a costume party in honor of her recent marriage to a man she doesn’t bother to name. Nathan soon finds out the real reason for the invite. When he contemplates skipping the party, he fears doing so might place him in even greater danger. Can he ever escape this woman? Just how much is Nathan willing to sacrifice to keep Miss Arntree from spinning her fanciful tales? Just what is the ultimate price of silence? Finalist, 2009 Pacific Northwest Writers Association Literary Contest
Tinseltown (Gay & Lesbian)
1 chapters   —   updated May 04, 2011 10:07am
Description: Film student Micah Malone learns the hard way that when life sucks, you can’t just yell, “Cut! Let’s do another take!” His grades are a box-office bomb. His friends create more drama than a soap opera. And his love life needs a laughtrack. While there’s no script to dictate what happens next, can Micah find the direction he needs? Life, after all, is no film school project. But it is great source material. The only source material. Let the cameras roll. Micah’s quirky story has begun filming. [Intro and Chapter 1 from Tinseltown, available in May from MLR Press. (3rd Place Winner, 2010 Pacific Northwest Writers Association Literary Contest)]
More of Barry’s writing…
The Tiger's Wife
Barry Brennessel is currently reading
by Téa Obreht (Goodreads Author)
bookshelves: currently-reading

 

Barry's Recent Updates

Barry Brennessel wrote a new blog post
The Celestial and The Sulphur Cure are both Finalists in the 2013 Next Generation Indie Book Awards!
Barry Brennessel wants to read
Art on Fire by Hilary Sloin
Barry Brennessel is currently reading
The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht
The Tiger's Wife
by Téa Obreht (Goodreads Author)
The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain
This is How You Lose Her by Junot Díaz
There is some hauntingly beautiful writing in this collection. I guess what bothered me is that Yunior fails to grow as a character, and the various women border on one-dimensional caricatures that just don't seem fully realized (with the exception o...more
Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
Barry Brennessel is now following J.P. Bowie's reviews
2160372
Day of the Dead by Erik Orrantia
Barry Brennessel is now a fan of Goodreads Author Edmond Manning
5700902
Winter Birds by Jim Grimsley
More of Barry's books…
“I always believed that for every good thing that happens in life, two tragedies rush in to kick your ass to keep you from getting all saccharine and deluded. It was as if just before you turned left into paradise, Ethel Merman popped up in your backseat and shouted, ‘Turn right, you idiot!”
Barry Brennessel, Tinseltown

“I am yours, too,” I whispered back, and those several minutes were the happiest in my life, eclipsing everything that came before and everything that has come after.”
Barry Brennessel, Reunion

“My Greek Chorus takes a break when I meet with Mrs. Castor. I’ve never told her about them, or the fact that I converse with my sister’s cat whenever I’m over there visiting. Probably a lot of things will remain a secret to Mrs. Castor. Some people might argue that going to see a counselor is a waste if I’m going to remain so guarded. But the appointments are only a ten dollar co-pay thanks to the university’s generous nature and, unlike my chorus and the cat, she answers back independent of my brain cells and challenges my ‘long held beliefs about the way people interact’. Or somethin”
Barry Brennessel, Tinseltown

“Endora, the next time you're passing by, please do.”
― Darrin Stephens

“That is why, walking across a school campus on this particular December morning, I keep searching the sky. As if I expected to see, rather like hearts, a lost pair of kites hurrying toward heaven.”
Truman Capote

“Diddly-dah, diddly-dum, twiddly-dum, twiddly, twiddly, twiddly, dah; blinkety-blink, blinkety-blink, chaddily-dum, chaddily-dah, boopity-boop.”
― Emma Peel

“I always believed that for every good thing that happens in life, two tragedies rush in to kick your ass to keep you from getting all saccharine and deluded. It was as if just before you turned left into paradise, Ethel Merman popped up in your backseat and shouted, ‘Turn right, you idiot!”
Barry Brennessel, Tinseltown

“I am yours, too,” I whispered back, and those several minutes were the happiest in my life, eclipsing everything that came before and everything that has come after.”
Barry Brennessel, Reunion

20401 Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) — 610 members — last activity May 19, 2013 08:47am
For the LGBTQI community and the people who love and support them. Our aim/goal is to provide a safe and supportive environment where members, regardle...more
76659 ZAM I AM... — 132 members — last activity Nov 25, 2012 09:11am
I love books and the people who love them. Have a question? Ask me. Have an answer? Tell me what it is. (If it's 42, I already know.) Share your wisdo...more
20149 M/M Romance — 10144 members — last activity 55 minutes ago
The #1 resource on the internet for M/M Romance fans, this group has something for everyone. It’s BACK! - - Our Don't Read In The Closet Event for 201...more
23615 American Historical Fiction — 893 members — last activity May 17, 2013 09:12am
American history is fascinating and complex, yet it seems the majority of historical novels are based on European history. The purpose of this group i...more
45452 Dreamspinner Press — 1368 members — last activity 2 hours, 59 min ago
A place for authors and readers of Dreamspinner Press to interact.
15807 Queereaders — 2791 members — last activity 3 hours, 56 min ago
A group for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered individuals and supporters interested in fun and stimulating conversation about books, movies, ar...more
10540 Filmmaking Community — 71 members — last activity May 01, 2013 12:41pm
Are you an aspiring director or screenwriter? Need help with a script or some advice on what to do with your movie? Simply got some stories to tell? I...more
33330 Historical Fiction Books — 169 members — last activity Mar 21, 2013 01:49pm
This network is for authors, publishers and readers of historical fiction books only. The books can be any genre of historical fiction - mystery, roma...more
Groups_nophoto-25x33 Historical Mystery Lovers — 276 members — last activity May 08, 2013 09:18am
Discussion and sharing of information about historical mystery series (or even non-series) books
49622 Riptide Publishing — 763 members — last activity May 15, 2013 12:50pm
Ride the Wave
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Comments (showing 1-6)    post a comment »
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message 6: by Cole

Cole Riann Hi Barry! :)


message 5: by Jay

Jay Bell Hey, Barry! It was so cool meeting you at the Lambdas! I hope our paths cross again soon. Let's sweep the awards next year! I mean like, take all the prizes, not clean up afterwards... ;)


message 4: by Erica

Erica Pike Hi Barry :) Thanks so much for the invitation!


♥Laddie♥ Hi, Barry! Thanks for the friendvite! :D


message 2: by Damon

Damon Suede We're gonna have so much fun. You should come do the STEAMY challenge with us! :)
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5253...


message 1: by Damon

Damon Suede Hey man! Thanks for the add...


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