David Abrams's Blog, page 165

Soup and Salad: The Worst Novelist in History, Writers Re-Read, Lessons From Gatsby, A Writer's Ego, Embracing Rejection, The Return of Frank Bascombe (?), A 21st-Century Essential Canon, Writers Helping Writers, Author Movie Cameos, 10 Movies Based on Poe

On today's menu:

1.  The Virtual Victorian somewhat cheerfully announces "The Worst Novelist in History."  E. L. James?  James Michener?  The guy who wrote that Mack Bolan series?  Guess again.  It's Amanda McKittrick Ros (December 8, 1860 to February 2, 1939)  an Irish novelist who, among other things, wrote that "eyes are 'piercing orbs,' or that legs are 'bony supports,' or that to blush is to be touched 'by the hot hand of bewilderment.'"  One...

Soup and Salad: The Worst Novelist in History, Writers Re-Read, Lessons From Gatsby, A Writer's Ego, Embracing Rejection, The Return of Frank Bascombe (?), A 21st-Century Essential Canon, Writers Helping Writers, Author Movie Cameos, 10 Movies Based on Poe

On today's menu:

1.  The Virtual Victorian somewhat cheerfully announces "The Worst Novelist in History."  E. L. James?  James Michener?  The guy who wrote that Mack Bolan series?  Guess again.  It's Amanda McKittrick Ros (December 8, 1860 to February 2, 1939)  an Irish novelist who, among other things, wrote that "eyes are 'piercing orbs,' or that legs are 'bony supports,' or that to blush is to be touched 'by the hot hand of bewilderment.'"  One...

Soup and Salad: The Worst Novelist in History, Writers Re-Read, Lessons From Gatsby, A Writer's Ego, Embracing Rejection, The Return of Frank Bascombe (?), A 21st-Century Essential Canon, Writers Helping Writers, Author Movie Cameos, 10 Movies Based on Poe

On today's menu:

1.  The Virtual Victorian somewhat cheerfully announces "The Worst Novelist in History."  E. L. James?  James Michener?  The guy who wrote that Mack Bolan series?  Guess again.  It's Amanda McKittrick Ros (December 8, 1860 to February 2, 1939)  an Irish novelist who, among other things, wrote that "eyes are 'piercing orbs,' or that legs are 'bony supports,' or that to blush is to be touched 'by the hot hand of bewilderment.'"  One...

Friday Freebie: Bunker Hill by Nathaniel Philbrick

Congratulations to Allison Busby, winner of last week's Friday Freebie: Bristol House by Beverly Swerling.

This week's book giveaway is Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick, author of In the Heart of the Sea, Mayflower, and other compelling neo-classics of history writing.  Here's how the publisher describes Bunker Hill:

Boston in 1775 is an island city occupied by British troops after a series of incendiary incidents by patriots who range from sober citizens t...

My First Time: Virginia Pye

My First Time is a regular feature in which writers talk about virgin experiences in their writing and publishing careers, ranging from their first rejection to the moment of holding their first published book in their hands.  Today’s guest is Virginia Pye; her debut novel, River of Dust , is an Indie Next Pick for May 2013.  Annie Dillard called River of Dust "terrific, tremendous, wonderful...a strong beautiful, deep book."  Virginia Pye's award-winning short stories have appe...

Sunday Sentence: The Coldest Night by Robert Olmstead

Simply put, the best sentence(s) I've read this past week, presented out of context and without commentary.




The men did not look human after war's subtraction: no eye, no ear, no nose, no face, no arm, no leg, no gut, no bowel, no bone, no spine, no muscle, no nerve, no breath, no heart, no brain, no faith.

The Coldest Night by Robert Olmstead

It's All in the Wrist: Hand-written manuscripts

Of all the regrettable things I produce in the course of a day--sulfurous farts, careless/thoughtless words to my wife, aggressive driving maneuvers--the thing I hate the most is my handwriting.  Somewhere along the line in my primary education I was never schooled on beautiful penmanship.  The only cursive writing I ever mastered was my signature.  And when I say "mastered," I mean I've perfected the illegible scribble which can be splashed across a dotted line in 2.4 seconds....

A Marriage Founded on Seagull Poop

Our marriage was solidified by a seagull.  More specifically, seagull poop.  Little did we know that when that bird flying overhead released his load of gray-green fecal matter and it landed, glistening like an oyster, in my new bride's hair, he was doing us one of the greatest favors we'd ever know.  Neither Jean nor I realized it at the time, buffeted by wind in that parking lot on the Oregon coast, but we'd just been handed a gift.

We were less than one week into our marriage...

Trailer Park Tuesday: Call Me Zelda by Erika Robuck

Welcome to Trailer Park Tuesday , a showcase of new book trailers and, in a few cases, previews of book-related movies.





With Baz Luhrman's 3-Delightful version of The Great Gatsby opening in movie theaters this week, F. Scott Fitzgerald is suddenly in vogue again.  Interestingly, it's his wife Zelda who is getting all the attention in a bumper crop of novels this year--Therese Anne Fowler's Z , Lee Smith's Guests on Earth , R. Clifton Spargo's Beautiful Fools and, just released today, Erika...

My First Time: Jessica Francis Kane

My First Time is a regular feature in which writers talk about virgin experiences in their writing and publishing careers, ranging from their first rejection to the moment of holding their first published book in their hands.  Today’s guest is Jessica Francis Kane, author of the new short story collection This Close from Graywolf Press.  Her first novel, The Report , was a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection and a finalist for both the Center for Fiction’s 2010 Fl...