Roy L. Pickering Jr.'s Blog, page 33
March 30, 2009
My Second Childhood
Having a child means getting to experience the wonderful world of children's literature all over again. I've been pleased to find out over the past few years that not only are the old standards as charming as I remembered, but plenty of great new books for little ones were written while I was busy growing up. Reading to my daughter on a daily basis allows me to revisit tales I fondly recall and discover new ones along with her. Here is a collection of books that my daughter my wife and I have fo
March 29, 2009
Reading in the era of the Jetsons
I’ve been hearing whispers and shouts about the forthcoming demise of printed books for quite a few years now. As one who works in the publishing industry, is a writer, and also does plenty of book reading, such news is worrisome. Yet I’ve managed not to lose much sleep over it. In part this is due to my personality, but mostly it’s because I have not taken the threat very seriously. I did not realistically envision books going away any time soon. Innovations have made many products obsolet
March 27, 2009
Book Giveaway
Giveaway Lottery for Patches of Grey
I will be giving away three copies of Patches of Grey on May 3rd to the winner of the lottery that is being conducted at GoodReads.com. Those who are not members of the GoodReads community will need to sign up in order to enter the drawing. But if you're a fan of books then you'll be a fan of this site, so I highly recommend it. Good luck and happy reading!
- Roy[image error]
March 25, 2009
SynergEbooks new blog
The publisher of my ebook novella Feeding the Squirrels has joined the world of blogging - SynergEbooks Blog . It includes a page dedicated to featuring articles and short stories from their roster of talented authors. I encourage everyone to stop by this Short Story Selection and check out a few tales, then let the authors know how much you enjoyed them. Eventually one of my own works, "Double Fault", is slated to make an appearance.
- Roy[image error]
March 23, 2009
Today is my birthday
My 42nd to be precise. So it feels like I should have something profound to say about the state of the world, or at least about the state of my life. But I don't. Taking stock I can accurately claim to have the love of a good woman, a wonderful daughter, a house in a town I enjoy being a resident of, and I'm still in hot pursuit of my dreams. Some might say that true happiness would require that I had already caught my dreams, but I'm not too sure about that. There is much to be said for th
March 17, 2009
Luck of the Married to an Irish Woman
"Pickering's style is fluid and crisp. There's a certain clarity to the prose that's considered and well judged - just enough to paint the picture and more than enough to drive along the narrative." - Khome (UnheardWords.com)
Above is the first official review of Patches of Grey, arriving promptly on St. Patrick's Day. Several more reviews are pending, hopefully soon to arrive and as generous as the first.
- Roy[image error]
March 8, 2009
Pulitzer Prize Winners
I thought I'd post this list of novels that have won the Pulitzer Prize since its inception in 1948. I've highlighted the 8 winners I've read to date, which has given me the goal to significantly improve my percentage because eight definitely is not enough. A few of these books were already on my personal "to read" list - Rabbit at Rest, The Stories of John Cheever, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, Interpreter of Maladies, & The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. And hope remains that I en
March 2, 2009
Book Reviews
Many in the blogosphere have chosen to use this venue to give birth to their inner critic. Some comment on movies, others on music, techies write about updates in technical wizardry, gamers let us know what they most like to play, and avid readers give the lowdown on books. Since I've used this blog to publicize my own writing, the least I can do to give back to the literary community is share my thoughts about the words of others. Going forward I will post a review of each new book I decide
February 23, 2009
Facebook - 25 Random Things About Me
Over the past couple months I have become a big fan of Facebook. It is an invaluable use of technology to get back in touch with people who have regrettably drifted out of your life and a fun way to interact with people you were already staying in touch with. There are also some cool applications on the site, no doubt far more than I'm aware of, certainly much more than I bother to use. But in spite of getting destroyed by friends who seem to play professionally, I've enjoyed playing Scrabble at
February 7, 2009
1-20-09
Prior to the most recent presidential election, I was not an especially political citizen. I pride myself in an ability to see both (or more) sides of any issue, which comes in handy in fiction writing because it allows for creating moments of decency in the most morally deprived characters and allowing the saintly ones to fall considerably short of perfection. Accepting the dogma of a particular party without question or reservation goes against my nature, as does seeing the opposition simply,
