David Abrams's Blog, page 57

My First Time: Maureen O’Leary

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 Maureen O’Leary, a writer and educator from Sacramento. She is the author of the novels How to Be Manly , The Arrow , and The Ghost Daughter . She is the winner of Heyday Books’ Sacramento Valley Writing Contest for Poetry, and her work will be included in...

Sunday Sentence: There Now by Eamon Grennan

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


Stopping to contemplate the colours
          of the logs you’re stacking...
you breathe in their creams and pale russets
          chocolate knotholes and slivers of sable
all shining in this light while the cold air
          readies for snow and your own breath
stains it when you take a breath
    &nb...

Friday Freebie: I Refuse by Per Petterson

Congratulations to Tisa Houck, winner of last week’s Friday Freebie giveaway: Lions , the new novel by Bonnie Nadzam.

This week’s book contest is for I Refuse by Per Petterson. As a long-time fan of the Norwegian novelist’s work, I’m very happy to be giving away a paperback copy of this book, released earlier this year by Graywolf Press. As TIME magazine notes, “Reading a Petterson novel is like falling into a northern landscape painting—all shafts of light and clear palpable chill.” Read on f...

Trailer Park Tuesday: The Crow Girl by Erik Axl Sund

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




After watching the unsettling trailer for the new novel The Crow Girl , I’ve decided to swear off the following: abandoned mental hospitals, dirty hypodermic needles, and girls with scribbled-out faces. I’m reluctant to fall asleep tonight because who knows what will show up. Maybe a tuxedo’ed man in a wheelchair sporting a pig’s mask who’ll lead me through the dark, dank corri...

My First Time: Jamie Duclos-Yourdon

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 Jamie Duclos-Yourdon, author of the novel Froelich’s Ladder , which will be released by Forest Avenue Press next month. Steve Hockensmith, author of Holmes on the Range, had this to say about the book: “Half (extremely) tall tale, half picaresque quest, a...

Sunday Sentence: A Good Scent From a Strange Mountain by Robert Olen Butler

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


My daughter is so beautiful you can put her face on your dimes and quarters and no one could ever make change again in your goddamn country without stopping and saying, Oh my God, what a beautiful face.

“Letters From My Father” from
A Good Scent From a Strange Mountain  by Robert Olen Butler

Reading With My Octopus Hands...Again

Overbooked, under-timed.

Yes, I’m reading with my “octopus hands” again. In the past three weeks, I’ve started new books like a salt water taffy addict unable to stop after unwrapping the first piece. Book after book keeps getting added to my currently-reading list. The truth is, I am enjoying every one of these books, each in their own way. Since we’re heading into the weekend and I have a little extra time on my hands (ha!), I thought I’d give you a quick snapshot of what’s currently passin...

Friday Freebie: Lions by Bonnie Nadzam

Congratulations to Carl Scott, winner of last week’s Friday Freebie giveaway: Emotional Rescue by Ben Greenman.

This week’s book contest is for Lions , the new novel by Bonnie Nadzam. I teased you with a sneak peek of the book yesterday, and now I’m giving you a chance to win a copy. Mike Harvkey, author of In the Course of Human Events, had this to say about Lions: “Set in a rural heartland town so close to death its few remaining residents mingle with ghosts, Lions is a wonderfully original...

Front Porch Books: July 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...

My First Time: Jayne Benjulian

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 poet Jayne Benjulian, author of Five Sextillion Atoms . About the collection, Daniel Tobin wrote, “Diamond edged, fiercely honest, Benjulian’s work pulses with lyric intensity.” David Wojahn called it ”a highly distinctive and gripping book notable for th...