Joe Flood (Author of Murder In Ocean Hall)

Joe Flood wrote a new blog post: Judging the AU Visions Festival

Each year, The American University School of Communications’ Visions Festival celebrates outstanding student work in the categories of film, photog... read more »

Joe Flood rated a book 3 of 5 stars

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)
by George R.R. Martin

read in June, 2012

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I was a George R. R. Martin skeptic. While I don't think he's an American Tolkien, he's a good storyteller, capable of propelling a plot through hundreds of pages - and this book is just the start. So many characters, it really changed my mind about...more

Joe Flood rated a book 2 of 5 stars

Aleph
by Paulo Coelho (Goodreads Author)

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Another somewhat disappointing Paulo Coelho novel. After falling in love with The Alchemist, devotees of the author (including me) will read just about anything by him. Aleph has some interesting things to say about love and fate but also a fair bit...more

Joe Flood rated a book 3 of 5 stars

The Rock Star's Daughter by Caitlyn Duffy

The Rock Star's Daughter (Treadwell Academy, #1)
by Caitlyn Duffy (Goodreads Author)

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As an author myself, I was really curious as to how "adult" young adult fiction could be these days. The answer - a lot! Though the book is aimed at teens, it deals with the loss of a parent, implied sex and drug use, family breakup and more. But it'...more

Joe Flood rated a book 5 of 5 stars

The Getaway Car: A Practical Memoir About Writing and Life
by Ann Patchett

read in May, 2012

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The questions I get most about writing are the practical ones. What do you write with? Where do you write? How do you find time to write?

Answers to these questions are supplied by novelist Ann Patchett in The Getaway Car: A Practical Memoir About Wri...more The questions I get most about writing are the practical ones. What do you write with? Where do you write? How do you find time to write?

Answers to these questions are supplied by novelist Ann Patchett in The Getaway Car: A Practical Memoir About Writing and Life. It's like a FAQ for aspiring writers.

Do you need to get an MFA in Creative Writing? Not if it means going into debt, according the prudent Patchett.

Should you turn your desk away from the window, to avoid distractions? "Desk positioning does not a real writer make," according to the author.

Are you really a writer? Spend one hour a day for thirty days writing to find out. Sit down and do the work. You'll be amazed at how much you can accomplish.

She also believes that writer's block is a myth. If you were stumped by a complicated math problem, do you have math block? No, you're still working on the problem, even if you have no evident progress.

Patchett also punctures the idea that "everyone has a great novel in them." Would you say that everyone has a five-minute mile in them? Writing is a craft that must be learned.

Her description of plot is the best I've ever read:

"The plot of a novel should be like walking down a busy city street: First there are all the other people around you, the dog walkers and the skateboarders, the couples fighting, the construction guys swearing and shouting, the pretty girl on teetering heels who causes those construction guys to turn around for a split second of silence. There are drivers hitting the brakes, diving birds slicing between buildings, and the suddenly ominous clouds banking to the west. All manner of action and movement is rushing towards you and away. But that isn’t enough. You should also have the storefronts at street level and the twenty stories of apartments full of people and their babies and their dreams. Below the street, there should be infrastructure: water, sewer, electricity. Maybe there’s a subway down there as well, and it’s full of people."

This rang true with me. A novel can't be just about one thing. All your characters, even the most minor ones, are heading somewhere, pursuing their own destinies. They exist in a dynamic world and, if it's a good novel, are worthy of stories of their own.

The Getaway Car: A Practical Memoir About Writing and Life is a Kindle Single. It's a slim volume but at $2.99 is a bargain for anyone seeking answers on the craft of writing and the realities of the writing life.(less)

Joe Flood rated a book 3 of 5 stars

Aleph
by Paulo Coelho (Goodreads Author)

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Joe Flood rated a book 3 of 5 stars

Swamplandia!
by Karen Russell (Goodreads Author)

read in March, 2012

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The novel starts off incredibly strong, giving us the colorful portrait of the Bigtree family, famed alligator wrestlers of the Everglades. Being from Florida myself, I’ve felt that the comic potential of the state has been underutilized. From exiles...more

Joe Flood rated a book 4 of 5 stars

What it Was
by George Pelecanos

read in February, 2012

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I live a block off 14th Street, the setting for much of George Pelecanos's gritty crime novel, What It Was. Set in 1972, it's a fascinating read for anyone who likes books set in the Washington "beyond the monuments." Watergate is briefly touched on,...more I live a block off 14th Street, the setting for much of George Pelecanos's gritty crime novel, What It Was. Set in 1972, it's a fascinating read for anyone who likes books set in the Washington "beyond the monuments." Watergate is briefly touched on, but this book contains no Senators, no wacky Masonic conspiracy theories and hardly any politics at all.

What It Was concerns the lives of real people, mostly cops and criminals, in a city scarred by riots. The popular conception of 14th Street is that it was a wasteland, from the disturbances of 1968 to the start of gentrification in the 1980s. But life went on. Pimps, drug dealers and hustlers of all kinds moved in. And for a lot of them, and the cops that pursued them, it was a hell of a time, even a good one.

Red Fury wants to make a name for himself and is going on a crime spree across the city. He wants to remembered. Hunting him is Frank Vaughn, a dinosaur in the evolving era, someone not afraid to bend the rules to get the job done. Also mixed up in the case is his friend Derek Strange, a cop who has left the force to become a private eye.

Pelecanos has a great eye from the details of the time, from the tricked-out cars to the soul music of the 1970s. He also resurrects a lot of old DC haunts, legendary bars and restaurants that are long gone in this gentrified city. His knowledge of the city is encyclopedic. For example, Red hides out in Burrville, a neighborhood I didn't even know existed.

I wrote my own crime novel about the city, Murder in Ocean Hall. It's set in many of the 14th Street neighborhoods of What It Was but during a time of rapid change.

What It Was is a fast, involving read. Pelecanos's style is muscular, alternating perspectives as it advances towards an inevitably violent conclusion.

Interestingly, the novel is available on the Kindle for only 99 cents. It's a limited-time offer designed to generate new readers for this crime novelist. Forward-thinking publishers are experimenting with new strategies and promotions to adapt to the world of e-readers.

What It Was is also the first book I've read on my iPad. Using the Kindle app, set to sepia, it was a comfortable reading experience - though not as easy on the eyes as using an e-ink reader like the Kindle.

But the 99 cent strategy worked for me. After dipping into the gritty crime world of What It Was, I'm primed to read the rest of Peleconos's work.(less)

Joe Flood added:

Hemingway's Boat: Everything He Loved in Life, and Lost, 1934-1961
by Paul Hendrickson

read in February, 2012

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Joe Flood rated a book 4 of 5 stars

Do More Great Work by Michael Bungay Stanier

Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork, and Start the Work That Matters.
by Michael Bungay Stanier

read in January, 2012

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Joe Flood wrote a new blog post: Judging the AU Visions Festival Judging the AU Visions Festival Each year, The American University School of Communications’ Visions Festival celebrates outstanding student work in the categories of film, photog... read more »
15 de May 19:04 · like
Joe Flood rated a book 3 of 5 stars A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1) by George R.R. Martin read in June, 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I was a George R. R. Martin skeptic. While I don't think he's an American Tolkien, he's a good storyteller, capable of propelling a plot through hundreds of pages - and this book is just the start. So many characters, it really changed my mind about...more
17 de Jul 08:37 · see review
Joe Flood rated a book 2 of 5 stars Aleph by Paulo Coelho (Goodreads Author)	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Another somewhat disappointing Paulo Coelho novel. After falling in love with The Alchemist, devotees of the author (including me) will read just about anything by him. Aleph has some interesting things to say about love and fate but also a fair bit...more
4 de Jun 05:13 · see review
Joe Flood rated a book 3 of 5 stars The Rock Star's Daughter (Treadwell Academy, #1) by Caitlyn Duffy (Goodreads Author)	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
As an author myself, I was really curious as to how "adult" young adult fiction could be these days. The answer - a lot! Though the book is aimed at teens, it deals with the loss of a parent, implied sex and drug use, family breakup and more. But it'...more
4 de Jun 05:02 · see review
Joe Flood rated a book 5 of 5 stars The Getaway Car: A Practical Memoir About Writing and Life by Ann Patchett read in May, 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The questions I get most about writing are the practical ones. What do you write with? Where do you write? How do you find time to write? Answers to these questions are supplied by novelist Ann Patchett in The Getaway Car: A Practical Memoir About Wri...more
15 de May 11:24 · see review
Joe Flood rated a book 3 of 5 stars Aleph by Paulo Coelho (Goodreads Author)	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
2 de Abr 05:55
Joe Flood rated a book 3 of 5 stars Swamplandia! by Karen Russell (Goodreads Author) read in March, 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The novel starts off incredibly strong, giving us the colorful portrait of the Bigtree family, famed alligator wrestlers of the Everglades. Being from Florida myself, I’ve felt that the comic potential of the state has been underutilized. From exiles...more
28 de Mar 10:08 · see review
Joe Flood rated a book 4 of 5 stars What it Was by George Pelecanos read in February, 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I live a block off 14th Street, the setting for much of George Pelecanos's gritty crime novel, What It Was. Set in 1972, it's a fascinating read for anyone who likes books set in the Washington "beyond the monuments." Watergate is briefly touched on,...more
14 de Feb 13:55 · see review
Joe Flood added: Hemingway's Boat: Everything He Loved in Life, and Lost, 1934-1961 by Paul Hendrickson read in February, 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14 de Feb 13:54
Joe Flood rated a book 4 of 5 stars Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork, and Start the Work That Matters. by Michael Bungay Stanier read in January, 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
1 de Ene 12:44

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