David Abrams's Blog, page 172

Trailer Park Tuesday: The Chalice by Nancy Bilyeau

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.



Today marks the publication date...

Memo From Fobbit Headquarters

Here are a few scraps of miscellany which might be of interest to Fobbit fans:

1.  Bookplates: I now have a couple dozen bookplates (pictured above) which I'm happy to sign and mail to those readers who were unable to get an in-person signature at any of the readings or other events on the Fobbit book tour last Fall.  Just drop me a line if you'd like one of these puppies signed (either personalized or just an autograph) and sent your way.


2.  Tournament of Books: The results of...

My First Time: Charles Finn

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 Charles Finn, editor of High Desert Journal and author of Wild Delicate Seconds: 29 Wildlife Encounters which Gretel Ehrlich, author of The Solace of Open Spaces, called “an exquisite read, full of small surprises with big heartbeats.  Finn’s...

Sunday Sentence: Useless Landscape by D. A. Powell

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


Because I have no sense
                         and I like the way it sounds:
           if I was to buy me a little place,
I'd buy me some bottomland.

First stanza of "The Price of Funk in Funkytown" from Usele...

Soup and Salad: Covering Fahrenheit 451, More covers at The Casual Optimist, Ayana Mathis and the "Aha! Moment," Retiring writers, Delayed reviews, Heavy-breathing reviews, Adam Braver's new project, 100 years of bestsellers, Paperback pride, First drafts

On today's menu:


1.  Congratulations to Matthew Owen who won a contest, sponsored by Simon & Schuster and the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, to design a new cover for Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 .  Owen's concept (seen above) is simple and brilliant and is sure to draw new readers to the special 60th anniversary printing of Bradbury's classic.  I suspect those who already own Fahrenheit 451 will also buy a copy just to have this beautif...

Friday Freebie: This Close by Jessica Francis Kane

Congratulations to Rhonda Lomazow, winner of last week's Friday Freebie: Flimsy Little Plastic Miracles by Ron Currie Jr. and The Burn Palace by Stephen Dobyns.

This week's book giveaway is This Close: Stories by Jessica Francis Kane from Graywolf Press .  This new book by the author of The Report hits bookstores on Tuesday, joining a ripe bumper crop of short story collections this spring. Here's just a taste of what you'll find in these dozen stories:

A recent college graduate l...

A Sense of Place: Keith McCafferty and The Gray Ghost Murders

One of the chief things which keeps writers lying in bed awake at night staring at the blank ceiling is the fear they didn't get it right--in this case, "it" meaning setting.  There's nothing worse than writing that Pat's King of Steaks is on the south side of Philadelphia's Passyunk Avenue, when readers in the City of Brotherly Love will immediately point out that it's Geno's Steaks on the south side of that intersection; Pat's is on the north.    (At least, I think I have tha...

Web of Horror: Revenge by Yoko Ogawa

Revenge: Eleven Dark Tales
By Yoko Ogawa
Picador
Guest review by Sam Thomas

In her delightfully disturbing collection of short stories, Revenge (appropriately subtitled Eleven Dark Tales), Yoko Ogawa explores the paper-thin border separating our unremarkable daily existence and the all-too-human demons that threaten us at every turn.  The chapter titles themselves blur this boundary, as the first story “Afternoon at the Bakery” is only marginally less disturbing than “Welcome to the Museum o...

Trailer Park Tuesday: Indiscretion by Charles Dubow

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.



(Possibly NSFW.  There's no graphic nudity, bu...

My First Time: Bryan Furuness

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 Bryan Furuness, author of the novel, The Lost Episodes of Revie Bryson , coming soon from Black Lawrence Press .  His stories have appeared in Ninth Letter, Southeast Review, Hobart, and elsewhere, including New Stories from the Midwest and Best...