Barry Lyga's Blog: The BLog, page 17

Interview: Professional Book Nerds Podcast

I am a guest on this week’s episode of the Professional Book Nerds podcast. Topics of conversation include: Bang, when and why I do research, my awesome Wonder Woman idea, pizza, and more!

You can subscribe or download the episode in your favorite podcast player or listen to the embedded episode here.

Interview: Insecure Writers Support Group

Over at the IWSG, I can be seen blathering answers to questions ranging from my most prized comic book to my top piece of advice for writers. And I say stuff like this:

When I get to the end of the story and feel a sense of satisfaction, I know it’s done. It’s baked. Time to take it out of the oven and put it on a serving platter.

And this:

I just write what interests me and then cross my fingers and hope that it will interest others as well!

Go check out the entire interview!

Amazon Picks Bang!

Hey, some more good news for Bang has come my way: the book has been included in the “Spring’s Best YA Fiction” list on Amazon’s Spring Reading Preview!

Bang joins nineteen other titles, including The Hate U Give and Strange the Dreamer. Check it out at this link (you’ll need to scroll down past the younger ages to the YA books).

March Fundraiser: “The Ideas of March”

This month’s fundraiser is shorter than the others, but I think what it lacks in length, it makes up for in punch. At the risk of sounding incredibly full of myself, I really, really love this story!

A girl receives the most disturbing Valentines present ever. While everyone is talking about that, a famous actress adopts her latest child overseas, to the camera flashes of the paparazzi. And while sanctions in the Middle East cause chaos and controversy, ten teenagers are dumped from their sailboats into frigid water…even as another group of teens plans to rocket a giant mirror into space to protect us from global warming.

What connects these stories? How are they related?

Maybe they’re not.

But maybe, just maybe, they are.

As with all of this year’s fundraisers, “The Ideas of March” costs a mere $1.99 and all proceeds go to the ACLU.

Also, the story will only be available for the month of March, so go get it now! And please, spread the word to your friends!

Amazon/Kindle
Barnes & Noble/Nook
iBooks
Kobo

Publishers Weekly Stars Bang!

I’m so happy to report a third star for my upcoming novel, Bang!

Publishers Weekly weighs in, saying, in part:

…agonized and primal feelings…are essential to this gripping story…. It’s a raw exploration of persistent social stigmas, a beautiful study of forgiveness, and an unflinching portrait of a parent’s worst nightmare.

Read the entire review here.

(You can read an excerpt from Bang at EW.com.)

 

Kirkus + Bang = Star

I’m thrilled to announce that Bang has received its second starred review, this time from the folks at Kirkus! (The first star was from School Library Journal.)

Here’s a snippet:

Rich characterization anchors this explosive novel, from white Sebastian’s likable, brainy, but at-times acerbic intensity to Aneesa’s upbeat, intelligent kindness. Aneesa is Muslim—her dad is Turkish-American—and she and Sebastian discuss everything from Islamophobia to their families to how to turn his pizza-making hobby into a YouTube Channel…. Readers will root for him to find some sort of peace.

Heartbreaking and brutally compelling.

Read the entire review over at Kirkus.

(You can read an excerpt of Bang at EW.com!)

February Fundraiser: “Loving the University”

As I said back here, I will be publishing a short story each month as a fundraiser for the ACLU. When I first came up with this idea, I picked the ACLU because I like that organization and because, well, let’s let President Andrew Shepard tell us:

http://barrylyga.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/President-Shepard-on-ACLU-1.m4v

 

So, yeah. Since those halcyon days of, uh, less than a month ago, the ACLU has proven itself to be every bit as necessary as I feared…and as effective as I’d hoped.

“Loving the University” costs only $1.99, and as with all of the monthly fundraisers, every penny I make will go straight to the ACLU. Please, buy the story and tell your friends to buy it, too!

Stavros has worked his whole life at the Pizza Emporium.

(Or has he?)

He’s watched generations of University men come and go, ever-changing, while his life has remained the same.

(Or has it?)

“Loving the University” is an intimate and intricate look into one man’s choices and the pains of mere living.

(Or is it?)

Buy here:

Amazon
B&N/Nook
iBooks
Kobo

More Crap from the Democrats

You’d think an article titled “Democrats launch scorched-earth strategy against Trump” would have some good news in it, but it turns out to be more useless, cowardly nonsense from the Democratic Party. Go read it, then come back here for the fisking.

There’s so much wrong in this story that it boggles the mind. Here are just a few things that jumped out at me:

Some party leaders are wary of the implications of teeth-baring, no-holds-barred opposition. They worry about the difficult position in which it puts vulnerable Democratic senators — 10 of them will be up for reelection in 2018 in states that Trump carried.

Translation: If we’re mean to Trump, his supporters won’t vote for us! Guess what, geniuses? They’re never going to vote for you! Your game here is to show undecideds and pissed-off lefties that they can trust you to stand up to President Tic-Tac, not coddle him in hopes of turning his acolytes. Voters respond to strong, confident action, not soothing words.

There are also concerns about the dangers of appearing overly obstructionist, and the possible blowback it could create for party officeholders up and down the ballot in 2018.

Yep, appearing “overly obstructionist” absolutely devastated the Republican Party, didn’t it?

An explicitly aggressive approach also stands to shape the 2020 presidential field, incentivizing potential candidates to compete in expressing their level of anti-Trump vitriol.

You say that like it’s a bad thing.

“We need to remember that one of the reasons young voters, especially, were uninspired is you can’t have a message of, “I’m not him,’” cautioned DNC vice chairman R.T. Rybak, the former Minneapolis mayor.

Are you kidding me? Someone kick this guy out. Voters weren’t uninspired — Hillary got more votes than President Pussy-Grabber! Voters were unevenly distributed. And given Trump’s first week, I think a hell of a lot of people would vote for “Not him.”

Democratic lawmakers have still found ways to embarrass Trump…

You can’t embarrass this guy. He has zero shame. Stop thinking embarrassing him is a victory!

…less objectionable picks through without a fight, like Housing and Urban Development Secretary nominee Ben Carson…

Oh, so “less objectionable” = “clueless, inexperienced, and with no idea how to handle the issues he’s been given.” Gotcha. I await my appointment to the Joint Chiefs.

…senators believe they can inoculate themselves from the criticism of obstructionism often leveled at McConnell during Obama’s presidency.

See above. McConnell is still standing, jackasses, and he’s stronger than ever!

By delivering a massive slight to the president on the first day of the Trump era — roughly a third of the House Democratic Caucus refused to attend his inauguration — Democrats sent a strong signal about their intentions both to the White House and to the American public.

Oh, God. This is the point at which I’m ready to put a gun to my head. If you think anyone in America noticed or cared about this, you need to resign right now. Symbolic gestures are absolutely meaningless in this case. If you’re really going to go scorched earth, you have to actually, y’know, set the ground on fire. You can’t just talk about getting the can of gasoline.

Like this:

@realDonaldTrump‘s ego monument real cost is around 25 billion USD. I ask you, America, what would you prefer instead of that #FuckingWall?

— Vicente Fox Quesada (@VicenteFoxQue) January 26, 2017

I’ve said before that the Democratic Party needs to toughen up. This article is worrisome because it shows that it thinks it has, when it clearly hasn’t.

A Star for BANG!

I’m thrilled to announce that School Library Journal has given Bang a starred review in its February 17 issue, saying, in part:

Lyga (I Hunt Killers) tackles a number of relevant issues in this heartbreaking novel, including gun control, suicide, and religious and racial prejudice. The pain and anguish Sebastian feels every day are raw and chafing, and the chemistry between Sebastian and Aneesa is tender and realistic. VERDICT With a number of sensitive issues addressed, along with frequent graphic language, this book may be best for a mature audience, who will fully appreciate the unwavering and stark realism.

Thanks, SLJ!

(You can read an excerpt from Bang at EW.com!)

A New Hope

So, I read this story in the Washington Post. Go read it — it won’t take long.

OK, so just in case you didn’t actually go read it, the TL;DR of it is this: A woman in a Trump town who had spent her whole life as a Republican and who had no outside influences on her just…spontaneously decided to take a closer look at things, switched to being a Democrat, and went on the Women’s March.

There’s a lot of talk about how to reach out to those Trump supporters (a majority, I hope) who were gulled into voting for him, who don’t really understand the stakes or the issues, who were seduced by easy talk and fake news. But that’s a mighty tall order. Almost by definition, “they” don’t live where “we” do. “They” don’t read, watch, or otherwise consume the same sources of information as “we” do. It’s a tough nut to crack.

But this woman… All on her own, without any sort of outreach, without a person in her life saying, “Hey, have you considered looking at things a different way?”, she just looked around and thought, Wait. This doesn’t make sense. This doesn’t seem right.

Well, damn.

Maybe there’s hope after all.