Matthew Dicks's Blog, page 740

Difficult to defend Dan

Dan Brown seems to be taking a lot of abuse lately.  I guess when you sell almost 100 million books, you make yourself a target. 

After all, success breeds envy, jealousy, stupidity and downright cruelty.  I have my own experience in such matters and can assure you that this sad fact of life is true.

With these thoughts in mind, I was prepared to come out in defense of Dan Brown, author extraordinaire and bestselling novelist, whose first two books I found to be entertaining, albeit...

First peek at UNEXPECTEDLY, MILOs cover

I got my first peek at the proposed cover art for UNEXPECTEDLY, MILO today, and I love it.  There are a couple of tweaks that I think need to be made, but overall, my first reaction was quite positive.

This is good.  My initial reaction to the cover of SOMETHING MISSING was less than favorable, but I've come to like it a lot as well.  

When the cover is finalized and I'm permitted to share it with you, I'll be sure to post it here. 

Prior to becoming  involved in the publishing world...

High expectations

I was reading through my contract for UNEXPECTEDLY, MILO, preparing to sign, when I came across the section entitles Description of the Work.  It provides a basic summary of the book, probably included in order to prevent me from slapping the title UNEXPECTEDLY, MILO onto the cover of my 900-page volume on the various mating habits of dyslexic earthworms and submitting it in the place of the real novel. 

All fine and good, but the first sentence of this description begins:

"The Work shall...

Ice cream connoisseur

You know that your wife takes her ice cream seriously when she requires five minutes of online research before deciding upon a flavor. 

Before leaving the house, I had to commit her preferences to memory.  The list, in order of preference, was York Peppermint Patty, World Class Chocolate, or Gold Medal Ribbon.

I ordered strawberry, but I've always had a less sophisticated palate.   

Upcoming appearances

Just a reminder of upcoming appearances for anyone interested:

On Monday, September 19, I will be at the Westport, CT public library with author Margot Berwin to discuss our debut novels. 

On Tuesday, September 29, I will be appearing at the Berlin-Peck Memorial Library to read and discuss SOMETHING MISSING.  

Hope to see you there!

In the presence of Nicholson Baker

On Friday night I went to RJ Julia Booksellers to listen to Nicholson Baker, one of my favorite authors, speak about his new book, THE ANTHOLOGIST.  Baker became one of my favorite authors when my agent recommended his work to me a couple years ago, suggesting that we share similarities in style.

While this may be true, it's sort of like comparing a mountain to a molehill.  We may have a similar shape, but the comparison ends there. 

He's truly a literary giant. 

Despite the esteem in...

Must listen

I have always recommended the RadioLab podcast to all of my friends, but I cannot recommend this week's episode on Parasites (yes, parasites) highly enough. Turn off the television tonight (unless you're watching the Patriots on Monday Night Football) and give it a listen.  It's better than anything you'll find of the tube.

Except for football, of course. 

SOMETHING MISSING: the audio book

I just spent the last three minutes listening to a sample of the audio version of SOMETHING MISSING, which was released by Recorded Books last week.

I love it.  The newly designed cover is excellent, and the narrator, Jefferson Mays, is brilliant.  He captures the voice of the narrator effortlessly. 

I find myself wanting to hug him.   

It was also utterly strange to hear another person read my words so well.  Sentences flowed with ease.  The inflection was spot on.  Even his actual...

Stupid, annoying plot

I often bemoan the importance placed upon plot in the current literary environment.  Being a writer who does not have a plot in mind when he begins a book, I tend to focus upon character first, and as a result, my work can sometimes be rambling and unfocused, especially in its first draft.  In revising UNEXPECTEDLY, MILO, several characters and scenes were ultimately cut from the novel because they simply did not propel the plot forward. A conversation with my agent or editor might go...

Just dont be ordinary

I am always surprised to find myself sitting in a meeting, a presentation, or any other instance in which someone is speaking to an audience and the speaker chooses not to be interesting, amusing, thought-provoking, or just plain different.  

Whether you're discussing a change in company policy, talking about your latest novel, training a team on a new piece of software, or introducing the keynote speaker, why not attempt to be original and memorable?  Take advantage of the opportunity to...