David Abrams's Blog, page 194
July 23, 2012
My First Time: Tupelo Hassman
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 Tupelo Hassman. Her novel Girlchild came out earlier this year from Farrar, Straus & Giroux to great acclaim. Publishers Weekly wrote: "Rory Hendrix will soon be a character readers around the country will know. She’s the...
July 22, 2012
Death by Acronym: "OIF" by Phil Klay
When I joined the Army in 1988, I dove into a deep bowl of alphabet soup and nearly drowned. AAFES, TDY, POV, FTX, CQ, HHC, MOS, OPSEC, CENTCOM, FORSCOM, ARCOM. In basic training (BCT), I struggled to learn not only how to properly load my rifle (M16) and how to march in formation (D&C) but also how to figure out this new lexicon. Military acronyms can be an impossible wall to scale for the new recruit. The acronyms were born out of necessity--a shorthand to t...
July 20, 2012
Friday Freebie: The Long Walk by Brian Castner
Congratulations to Thomas Baughman, winner of last week's Friday Freebie: Windeye by Brian Evenson.
This week's book giveaway is
The Long Walk: A Story of War and the Life That Follows
by Brian Castner. It's on my shortlist of Modern War books to read in the near future (a list that also includes Kevin Powers'
The Yellow Birds
, Stephen Dau's
The Book of Jonas
, Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya's
The Watch
and Rachel Maddow's
Drift
). The way things are going in my increasingly wound-tig...
July 19, 2012
Three July 19s
Here are three Polaroid snapshots from my journal, three moments from three different July 19s in my life: one involving my mother-in-law, one written when I was in Iraq, and one from the vantage point of a bathroom stall in the Pentagon. In some instances, the names have been changed.
July 19, 1998: Jean said her mom used the phrase “an author of consequence” when referring to me yesterday. Something like, “When David becomes an author of consequence, you’ll be abl...
July 16, 2012
My First Time: Lydia Netzer
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 Lydia Netzer, author of
Shine Shine Shine
, a novel about astronauts, hairless women, autism, parenting, and robots. Sara Gruen (author of Water for Elephants), read the book and was charmed: "A funny, compelling love story from the freshest...
July 15, 2012
Booklist on Fobbit: "Think M*A*S*H in Iraq"
Booklist is the latest publishing industry trade magazine to weigh in on Fobbit . I still can't put into adequate words how these early, positive reviews are making me feel. Like a kid stunned to be receiving Christmas gifts in July, for one. Like a writer finally seeing payoff for all those isolated nights down in his basement, for another.
One of the things I appreciate about this Booklist review is the mention of General Bright's toenail clippings. In their own w...
July 13, 2012
Friday Freebie: Windeye by Brian Evenson
Congratulations to Sharon Borrege, winner of last week's Friday Freebie, Nom de Plume: A (Secret) History of Pseudonyms by Carmela Ciuraru.
This week's book giveaway is
Windeye
by Brian Evenson, recently published by Coffee House Press. This collection of 25 short stories is unnerving, unsettling, and invigorating--each of them fine-honed tales of literary horror. Here's the publisher's blurb to tell a little more about the book:A woman falling out of sync with the world; a king's...
July 12, 2012
Soup and Salad: Fobbit ARC winner, Matt Bell's new novel, Pulitzer-fail followup, David Cronenberg and Don DeLillo Together Again for the First Time, Stinking Kindles, Thank You For Killing My Novel, Sere Prince Halverson's Sense of Place, Charles Dickens
On today's menu:
1. Congratulations to Diana Wagman , winner of the Fobbit prize package . My sincerest thanks to everyone who entered the contest. You overwhelmed my inbox with support, love, and anticipation for the book (which officially publishes on Sept. 4). A little bird at Grove/Atlantic tells me there will be another Fobbit giveaway coming soon; so be of good cheer, all you losers!
2. Speaking of anticipation, I was excited to see
this announcement
of Matt Be...
Soup and Salad: Fobbit ARC winner, Matt Bell's new novel, Pulitzer-fail followup, David Cronenberg and Don DeLillo Together Again for the First Time, Stinking Kindles, Thank You For Killing My Novel, Sere Prince Halverson's Sense of Place, Charles Dickens
On today's menu:
1. Congratulations to Diana Wagman , winner of the Fobbit prize package . My sincerest thanks to everyone who entered the contest. You overwhelmed my inbox with support, love, and anticipation for the book (which officially publishes on Sept. 4). A little bird at Grove/Atlantic tells me there will be another Fobbit giveaway coming soon; so be of good cheer, all you losers!
2. Speaking of anticipation, I was excited to see
this announcement
of Matt Be...
Soup and Salad: Fobbit ARC winner, Matt Bell's new novel, Pulitzer-fail followup, David Cronenberg and Don DeLillo Together Again for the First Time, Stinking Kindles, Thank You For Killing My Novel, Sere Prince Halverson's Sense of Place, Charles Dickens
On today's menu:
1. Congratulations to Diana Wagman , winner of the Fobbit prize package . My sincerest thanks to everyone who entered the contest. You overwhelmed my inbox with support, love, and anticipation for the book (which officially publishes on Sept. 4). A little bird at Grove/Atlantic tells me there will be another Fobbit giveaway coming soon; so be of good cheer, all you losers!
2. Speaking of anticipation, I was excited to see
this announcement
of Matt Be...
