David Abrams's Blog, page 52

Announcing my next novel: Brave Deeds

I’m pleased to announce my next novel, Brave Deeds , will be published by Grove/Atlantic in August 2017.

Spanning eight hours, the novel follows six U.S. Army soldiers who have gone AWOL as they move across war-torn Baghdad on foot in order to attend the memorial service for their platoon sergeant. Here’s how it begins:

     We walk, we walk, we walk.
     We head into the fireball sun, packed in battle armor, baking from the inside out, throats coated with dust, h...

Trailer Park Tuesday: The Deep Code by Charley Henley

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




One of the things I like most about the trailer for Charley Henley’s short story collection, The Deep Code , is its arty, independent film qualities. Stark, spare, a little surreal, it unspools like something from a Hollywood lens of the 1970s. Robert Altman, Terrence Malick, and Hal Ashby spring to mind, maybe even David Lynch (the video is from “Lost Highway Films LLC”—perhap...

My First Time: Lenore Gay

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 Lenore Gay, author of the new novel Shelter of Leaves . Lenore is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a Masters in Sociology, as well as in Rehabilitation Counseling. She has worked in several agencies, psychiatric hospitals and for ten years she maint...

Sunday Sentence: Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson

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


We had the Top 40 music of the 1970s trying to tell our story. It never quite figured us out.

Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson

Book Radar: Jessica Keener, Keir Graff, Elizabeth Strout, Elizabeth Crane, Tim Wirkus, Denis Johnson, Mike McCormack, Stephen King & Owen King

Book Radar rounds up some of the latest publishing deals which have caught my eye, gathered from reports at Publishers Marketplace, Galley Cat, office water-coolers and other places where hands are shaken and promises are made. As with anything in the fickle publishing industry, dates and titles are subject to change.

From Publishers Lunch, news of the following book deals...


Jessica Keener’s STRANGERS IN BUDAPEST, about a grieving father, convinced his son-in-law has murdered his daughter, wh...

Friday Freebie: Fill the Sky by Katherine Sherbrooke

Congratulations to Bart Zimmer, winner of last week’s Friday Freebie: The Age of Daredevils by Michael Clarkson.

This week’s contest is for Fill the Sky by Katherine Sherbrooke. I have two copies of the novel up for grabs. Keep scrolling for more information about the book...

When Ellie’s cancer exhausts the reaches of modern medicine, she travels to Ecuador with her lifelong friends, Tess and Joline, hoping that local shamans might offer a miracle. During a tumultuous week that includes stra...

Front Porch Books: October 2016 edition

Front Porch Books is a monthly tally of books—mainly advance review copies (aka “uncorrected proofs” and “galleys”)—I’ve received from publishers, but also sprinkled with packages from Book Mooch, independent bookstores, Amazon and other sources. Because my dear friends, Mr. FedEx and Mrs. UPS, leave them with a doorbell-and-dash method of delivery, I call them my Front Porch Books. In this digital age, ARCs are also beamed to the doorstep of my Kindle via NetGalley and Edelweiss. Note: many...

Contort: born with a twist and a slip and a slither

          I was born, not aborted.
         I contorted my way into this world with a twist and a slip and a slither.
         Back then, they called me Montana Lily, Butte’s Baby Wonder.

Those are the opening lines to my latest short story, a slippery stream-of-consciousness piece narrated by the most famous child contortionist to ever emerge from Butte, Montana (admittedly, perhaps the only headline-making, pliable-bo...

My First Time: Katherine A. Sherbrooke

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 Katherine A. Sherbrooke, author of the new novel Fill the Sky , and a memoir, Finding Home . Katherine is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Stanford University, is an entrepreneur and writer. She currently serves as Chair of the Board of Grub Street. She...

Sunday Sentence: The Good Soldiers by David Finkel

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


At most, the IED cost $100 to make, and against it the $150,000 Humvee might as well have been constructed of lace.

The Good Soldiers by David Finkel