David Abrams's Blog, page 168

Sunday Sentence: National Treasures by Charles McLeod

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



But beneath her vamp allure were the good values instilled upon her in youth; when she smiled, it was a smile of church Sundays and ribbons received at 4H events.  It was a smile of wheat.

"National Treasures" from National Treasures by Charles McLeod

Friday Freebie: North of Hope by Shannon Huffman Polson

First of all, congratulations to Anne Civitano, winner of the hardback edition of Fobbit , freshly published in the United Kingdom by Harvill Secker.  Thanks also to those of you who helped with last-minute promotion of the contest by trying to increase the number of followers at my Facebook page .  Though we didn't quite make it to the goal of 500 followers, I'm still going to give away a second copy of Fobbit as promised because....well, because it's my blog, my rules, and I ca...

Judging a Book: You Are One of Them by Elliott Holt

The cover of Elliott Holt's debut novel You Are One of Them cleverly obscures half the face of a person standing at a train window with a black cloud of what could be spray paint, an ink blot, a smear of violent graffiti.  Designer Janet Hansen takes advantage of that dark blot of negative space by filling it with the title and author's name.  The partial black mask is, of course, a nice play on the title's implied theme of identity, assimilation, and homogeneity.  The book wil...

Trailer Park Tuesday: North of Hope by Shannon Huffman Polson

Welcome to Trailer Park Tuesday , a showcase of new book trailers and, in a few cases, previews of book-related movies.  Unless their last name is Grisham or King, authors will probably never see their trailers on the big screen at the local cineplex.  And that's a shame because a lot of hard work goes into producing these short marriages between book and video.  So, if you like what you see, please spread the word and help these videos go viral.





"There is a time in each of our l...

My First Time: Terese Svoboda

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 Terese Svoboda.  She has published 14 books of prose, poetry, and translation, including Tin God , Bohemian Girl , Weapons Grade: Poems , Black Glasses Like Clark Kent: A GI's Secret from Postwar Japan , and Trailer Girl and Other Stories .  P...

Sunday Sentence: National Treasures by Charles McLeod

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



His teeth were a mess, not aware of each other; they sprung from his gums at all angles.

"The State Bird of Minnesota" from National Treasures by Charles McLeod

Win a copy of Fobbit (UK version)

This past week marked a new chapter in the life of my novel.  Eight months to the day after being published by Grove/Atlantic in the U.S., Fobbit was published in the United Kingdom by Harvill Secker , part of the Random House Group.  I'm honored to be part of that illustrious family.


I'm also a big fan of the jacket with which they've clothed my debut novel.  It's a cover design that's a sly homage to two of my favorite movies: M*A*S*H and Full Metal Jacket.  I hope you'll...

Friday Freebie: Tin God by Terese Svoboda

Congratulations to Carol Wong, winner of last week's Friday Freebie, the three-fer prize package of The City of Devi by Manil Suri, Leela's Book by Alice Albinia, and Londoners: The Days and Nights of London Now--As Told by Those Who Love It, Hate It, Live It, Left It, and Long for It by Craig Taylor.

This week's book giveaway is Tin God by Terese Svoboda.  Originally published in 2006, it's been recently reissued in trade paperback by the University of Nebraska's Bison Books imprint in i...

Soup and Salad: Now Let Us Praise Masha Hamilton, Paperback Reboot, American Reading Habits, Sorry Television's Great American Bookstore Tour, Coos Bay Catches a Wave of Fobbits, Flannery O'Connor is Badass, Kate Atkinson's Life, Ron Hogan Plays Book Match

On today's menu:

1.  As I've mentioned before , when I was serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom in Baghdad during 2005, I was sustained by a lifeline of correspondents and care packages from home--the majority of which came from fellow writers I'd never met, authors who belonged to the Emerging Writers Network and were rallied to my cause by EWN founder Dan Wickett (who is now also the publisher of Dzanc Books).  Among those writerly pen pals, none was more faithful and  encouragin...

Soup and Salad: Now Let Us Praise Masha Hamilton, Paperback Reboot, American Reading Habits, Sorry Television's Great American Bookstore Tour, Coos Bay Catches a Wave of Fobbits, Flannery O'Connor is Badass, Kate Atkinson's Life, Ron Hogan Plays Book Match

On today's menu:

1.  As I've mentioned before , when I was serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom in Baghdad during 2005, I was sustained by a lifeline of correspondents and care packages from home--the majority of which came from fellow writers I'd never met, authors who belonged to the Emerging Writers Network and were rallied to my cause by EWN founder Dan Wickett (who is now also the publisher of Dzanc Books).  Among those writerly pen pals, none was more faithful and  encouragin...