David Abrams's Blog, page 58

Sunday Sentence: Marrow Island by Alexis M. Smith

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


We have one life each and one death. What comes between birth and death is up to us.

Marrow Island  by Alexis M. Smith

Friday Freebie: Emotional Rescue by Ben Greenman

Congratulations to Lisa Murray and Ben Gabriel, winners of last week’s Friday Freebie giveaway: Champion of the World by Chad Dundas.

This week’s book contest is for Emotional Rescue by Ben Greenman. Subtitled Essays on Love, Loss, and Life—With a Soundtrack, the book has garnered early praise from the likes of Questlove, who says: “Reading Emotional Rescue is like peeking into a stranger’s playlist when he’s not around, and then talking to him about it when he is around. Music is the kind of...

Sunday Sentence: Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis

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


The guinea pigs, awake and nibbling, were making a sound like that of a wet cloth rubbed on glass in window.

Arrowsmith  by Sinclair Lewis

Friday Freebie: Champion of the World by Chad Dundas

Congratulations to Dona Bailey, winner of last week’s Friday Freebie giveaway: We’re All Damaged by Matthew Norman.

This week’s book contest is for Champion of the World , the debut novel by Montana author Chad Dundas. I have two copies to give away to two lucky readers. Listen to what Jeff Guinn, author of The Last Gunfight, had to say about the book: “Here’s one of the finest first novels in years, a gritty tale involving professional wrestling, bootlegging, and the byzantine strategies of c...

Living in the Flux: The Glimmer Train interview with Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly

I’ve been enjoying the latest issue of Glimmer Train Stories , reading it in small doses each day so I can stretch out the experience. (Full disclosure: one of my stories, “A Little Bit of Everything,” can also be found in these pages.) While many of the stories are outstanding, for me the real centerpiece of the Spring/Summer 2016 issue (#96) is Kevin Rabalais’ interview with Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly, the husband-and-wife team behind The Tilted World . Tom is also the author of the s...

Book Radar: Nancy Pearl, J. P. Monninger, William Jensen, Tara Ison, S. M. Stirling and Sarah Weinman

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...

Librarian Nancy Pearl’s GEORGE AND LIZZIE, a married couple have radically different understandings of what love and ma...

Trailer Park Tuesday: The Fundamentals of Caring

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




As the end credits began to roll, I turned to my wife and said, “So, what did you think?” She shrugged and said, “It was okay for a feel-good movie.” “Yeah maybe,” I said, “but I felt good watching it.” It’s true that the new Netflix original movie The Fundamentals of Caring may not pluck a sentimental chord in everyone’s heart (my wife is a particularly tough critic) and it c...

My First Time: Brandon Davis Jennings

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 Brandon Davis Jennings, an Iraq War veteran from West Virginia and the author of two Kindle Singles: Waiting for the Enemy and Battle Rattle . Brandon received his Master of Fine Arts in Fiction from Bowling Green State University, and his PhD. from Weste...

Sunday Sentence: Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler

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


The fiddle players rosined their bows, and the piano player lightly touched the keys, and the bass player made his big fat strings talk in a deep, low voice, and then they exploded—and the music they played was like a giant bucket of water poured over a great tree, fully leaved, the notes dividing and dispersing themselves down, gradually growing smaller and smaller, joyously running, b...

Friday Freebie: We’re All Damaged by Matthew Norman

Congratulations to Renata Birkenbuel, winner of last week’s Friday Freebie giveaway: This is Your Life, Harriet Chance! by Jonathan Evison.

This week’s book contest is for the new novel by Matthew Norman, We’re All Damaged . Catherine McKenzie, author of Hidden and Smoke, had this to say about the book: “In We’re All Damaged, Matthew Norman has crafted a fast-paced, funny, and touching story. Comparisons to Jonathan Tropper and Nick Hornby will be made, and deservedly so, but Norman’s voice an...