Michael Perry's Blog, page 33
January 17, 2023
Torpedo Heater Lit
One of the main characters in my new book. Torpedo heaters are underrepresented in modern literature and I’m trying to change that. Book available Thursday.
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January 16, 2023
Professional Noticer: Hunkering
Howdy Folks:
A while back Michael returned for his second visit of three so far on The Professional Noticer with Andy Andrews. Andy and Michael are twins who have actually never met.
Michael talked about his recent release, Hunker: Essays on Human Connection, and several other books he’s working on (another new one coming out January 19, 2023–be sure you’re on the mailing list so you get notified). Listen as Andy and Michael discuss all things writing – what works, what doesn’t, what bruises the ego, what it’s like to work with editors, and how they deal with criticism!
You can listen here or on all the various podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts.
You can watch the entire episode on YouTube or on Facebook.
If you have questions or comments for THE PROFESSIONAL NOTICER, please contact them at:
• Email: TheProfessionalNoticer@AndyAndrews.com
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/AndyAndrews
• YouTube: https://youtube.com/AndyAndrewsAuthor
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/AndyAndrews
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/AndyAndrewsAuthor
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January 15, 2023
Forty Acres Deep AVAILABLE NOW
UPDATE: BOOK IS NOW OUT AND AVAILABLE. Mike’s latest book, Forty Acres Deep, releases this week, Thursday, 1.19.23. It will be available in the Sneezing Cow store this Thursday or Friday. Ebook and audiobook available soon thereafter. This is what we call a “soft” release. Within the month your local bookstore will be able to obtain the book via Ingram (they’ll know what that means) or they can contact us directly for ordering information.
If you are in the Eau Claire, Wisconsin, vicinity, there will be a book launch at the Local Store this Thursday, 1.19.23, at 7PM. The event is free and seats are limited so y’might want to arrive early. Details here. Mike will be joined by musician S. Carey (with special guest Ben Lester) for an hour of prose and music introducing Forty Acres Deep–including a discussion of how Carey’s album Break Me Open influenced the writing. Book and album signing to follow. (Thank you all who attended, including those who stood.)
Summary:
When farmer Harold wakes to find his wife dead beside him in bed and snow threatening to crush the last life from his dwindling farm, he takes drastic steps toward a fresh start. Set in a world of stark wintry beauty, Forty Acres Deep is the brief, unrelenting tale of a farmer’s attempt to save the remains of his land and make sense of a world he no longer recognizes while pitilessly calling himself into account after the death of his wife and child. Seamed with grim humor and earthy revelations, it is an unforgiving story…and yet leaves open the idea that we might surrender to hope.
“I’m nervous about this one,” says author Michael Perry. “Not sure how folks will take it. Or if I should have even written it.”
Perry hatched the idea for the novella (a work of fiction shorter than a novel but longer than a short story) while fighting to save his two steel sheds from collapsing beneath a record-breaking snowfall. “I’m a softhanded writer with a couple pole barns mostly full of junk,” says Perry, “As I sweated and cursed and kneed through the drifts, I kept thinking, what if I was a real farmer, fighting to save my livelihood? Barns went down all over the state that winter. It was no joke.”
“In part I’m attempting to honor the old farming traditions,” says Perry, “but the main character is also fighting his own misguided sentimentality–the bullheadedness that keeps us hanging on when we should let go. As a farmer and a citizen he’s facing suppressed rage and powerlessness in the face of change. As a husband, he’s facing all the ways you can fall short in a marriage even as you meet the standard definition. As a parent, he’s confronting–or avoiding–the worst grief imaginable. And as a human he’s brought face-to-face with those for whom the world offers no easy space.”
“Despite the storyline, there’s some humor in there,” says Perry. “I’ve been reading bits aloud at my shows and folks do laugh. Grim chuckles, not knee-slappers. But yah, mostly this one’s not a lotta zippity-doo-dah.” Due to the serious themes, Perry shared the manuscript with farmers and members of the agricultural mental health movement before committing to publish it.
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Forty Acres Deep Coming This Week
Mike’s latest book, Forty Acres Deep, releases this week, Thursday, 1.19.23. It will be available in the Sneezing Cow store this Thursday or Friday. Ebook and audiobook available soon thereafter. This is what we call a “soft” release. Within the month your local bookstore will be able to obtain the book via Ingram (they’ll know what that means) or they can contact us directly for ordering information.
If you are in the Eau Claire, Wisconsin, vicinity, there will be a book launch at the Local Store this week Thursday, 1.19.23, at 7PM. The event is free and seats are limited so y’might want to arrive early. Details here. Mike will be joined by musician S. Carey (with special guest Ben Lester) for an hour of prose and music introducing Forty Acres Deep–including a discussion of how Carey’s album Break Me Open influenced the writing. Book and album signing to follow.
Summary:
When farmer Harold wakes to find his wife dead beside him in bed and snow threatening to crush the last life from his dwindling farm, he takes drastic steps toward a fresh start. Set in a world of stark wintry beauty, Forty Acres Deep is the brief, unrelenting tale of a farmer’s attempt to save the remains of his land and make sense of a world he no longer recognizes while pitilessly calling himself into account after the death of his wife and child. Seamed with grim humor and earthy revelations, it is an unforgiving story…and yet leaves open the idea that we might surrender to hope.
“I’m nervous about this one,” says author Michael Perry. “Not sure how folks will take it. Or if I should have even written it.”
Perry hatched the idea for the novella (a work of fiction shorter than a novel but longer than a short story) while fighting to save his two steel sheds from collapsing beneath a record-breaking snowfall. “I’m a softhanded writer with a couple pole barns mostly full of junk,” says Perry, “As I sweated and cursed and kneed through the drifts, I kept thinking, what if I was a real farmer, fighting to save my livelihood? Barns went down all over the state that winter. It was no joke.”
“In part I’m attempting to honor the old farming traditions,” says Perry, “but the main character is also fighting his own misguided sentimentality–the bullheadedness that keeps us hanging on when we should let go. As a farmer and a citizen he’s facing suppressed rage and powerlessness in the face of change. As a husband, he’s facing all the ways you can fall short in a marriage even as you meet the standard definition. As a parent, he’s confronting–or avoiding–the worst grief imaginable. And as a human he’s brought face-to-face with those for whom the world offers no easy space.”
“Despite the storyline, there’s some humor in there,” says Perry. “I’ve been reading bits aloud at my shows and folks do laugh. Grim chuckles, not knee-slappers. But yah, mostly this one’s not a lotta zippity-doo-dah.” Due to the serious themes, Perry shared the manuscript with farmers and members of the agricultural mental health movement before committing to publish it.
The post Forty Acres Deep Coming This Week appeared first on SneezingCow.com.
This Week’s Tent Show Radio: Punch Brothers
Check out Mike (Twitter: @SneezingCow) hosting Tent Show Radio (Twitter: @tentshowradio). In episode 23-02, Big Top Chautauqua (Twitter: @BigBlueTent) presents The Porch Brothers (Twitter: @PorchBrothers), who built their sound on a platform of virtuosic instrumentalism and dazzling arrangements.
Michael Perry shares humorous stories throughout on the Big Top stage. If you prefer to watch this and previous episodes, follow this link for all the available viewing options.
Stream it here along with other Tent Show Radio episodes.
Tent show Radio is broadcast each week on many fine independent stations, which can be found here: https://sneezingcow.com/ten-show-radio-stations/
The post This Week’s Tent Show Radio: Punch Brothers appeared first on SneezingCow.com.
January 14, 2023
Warm (Cold?) Welcome
The fridge is cold, but the welcome is warm. A lovely touch waiting for us backstage at the Temple Theatre in Viroqua.
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January 10, 2023
New Book Event with Music
Doing a little thing for the new book next week. Info here. Ordering info to follow in a week or so.
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January 9, 2023
Tom’s Snow Blower
My neighbor Tom built his snow blower using parts from a hammer mill, the bull wheel of a grain binder, split three-inch well casing, and the blower pipe from a grain thresher. Powered it with the pony engine off a silage chopper. When conditions were right, it’d throw snow over the roof of his house. In the book “Visiting Tom,” I wrote:
It’s a horrifying machine close up. You can stretch both arms and not come close to spanning the intake. The uppermost reach of the paddles is nearly sternum high. You imagine a safety inspector from OSHA dropping in a dead faint atop his clipboard. In action, the paddles whirl invisibly fast, scooping the snow and hurling it up the chute to arc across the sky. “It’s fun when you get a nice overnight snow with a lot of ice crystals in it,” says Tom. “You blow that snow on a sunny morning, it looks like Ol’ Faithful!”
These days Tom has retired the snowblower. A good next-door neighbor plows his driveway for him. The world spins on–I’m grateful I’ve been allowed to collect up a few of its stories.
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January 7, 2023
This Week’s Tent Show Radio: Forever Young – A Neil Young Retrospective
Check out Mike (Twitter: @SneezingCow) hosting Tent Show Radio (Twitter: @tentshowradio). In episode 23-01, Big Top Chautauqua (Twitter: @BigBlueTent) presents “Forever Young: A Neil Young Retrospective,” Corey Carlson & Severin Behnen’s take on the work of Neil Young.
Michael Perry shares humorous stories throughout on the Big Top stage. If you prefer to watch this and previous episodes, follow this link for all the available viewing options.
Stream it here along with other Tent Show Radio episodes.
Tent show Radio is broadcast each week on many fine independent stations, which can be found here: https://sneezingcow.com/ten-show-radio-stations/
The post This Week’s Tent Show Radio: Forever Young – A Neil Young Retrospective appeared first on SneezingCow.com.
Backstage
Pre-show still life. Lots of un-hunkered laughter and stories and conversation with folks in Oconomowoc last night, looking forward to another show tonight (sold out, sorry not sorry), then taking it to The Historic Temple Theatre in Viroqua next week. Also a great opportunity to re-up this:“I wish I’d have known you were in town!”In light of social media sketchiness and the struggles faced by local media outlets, and in light of the notes we get from folks who find out Mike or the band was in town after the mighty 2002 Toyota van leaves town, we respectfully renew our request that you* consider joining our old-fashioned mailing list. Here we explain everything in plain language: https://sneezingcow.com/mailinglist/*If you’re one of the thousands (!) already signed up, thank you.The post Backstage appeared first on SneezingCow.com.
