Matthew Dicks's Blog, page 745
June 26, 2009
Product placement
In reading some of my Amazon reviews (I know I shouldn't, but they're still very good), I noticed that two people commented on the specificity to which I wrote about certain brand names in SOMETHING MISSING, wondering if I received money from the companies mentioned as a form of product placement.
Certainly a fascinating idea, and one that I wouldn't mind pursuing in the future, but the reason behind my specificity is two-fold:
Martin, the protagonist in SOMETHING MISSING, is more detail-orien
June 22, 2009
Writers Digest feature
An article about me and my book, SOMETHING MISSING, appears in the July/August issue of Writer’s Digest. It’s great. A full-page article that includes a photograph of me (27 pounds heavier than I am today) and the cover art of the book, which always seems to excite my agent.
The author, Jordan Rosenfeld, writes about the process by which SOMETHING MISSING originated, the process my which I write in general, and some of my personal history and how it relates to Martin and his story. I’ve had sto
June 21, 2009
Odd business combinations
I spent the evening at the Latchis Hotel in Brattleboro, Vermont, at a writing and booksellers’ conference. My publicist arranged the accommodations, so I was not familiar with the hotel when I arrived. It turns out that the Latchis, an art deco hotel according to its website, is actually a combination hotel and movie theater, and this unique redesign afforded some interesting architectural features.
For example, a square support beam, about two feet wide on each side, ran through my bathroom f
June 17, 2009
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies!
I don’t often recommend books sight unseen, but I saw this book on the NY Times bestseller list (trade paperback) and couldn’t resist immediately purchasing it.
It’s published by Quirk Books, which also sounds right up my ally, and is described as “the classic story, retold with 'ultraviolent zombie mayhem.”
Awesome.
The fact that the book still retains Jane Austin as an author makes it even more fascinating to me.
Drippy and syrupy and just plain inexplicable
Being a novelist and an English major, I truly believe that I love books just about as much as a person can, and while I hate to criticize the legitimacy of any written text, but could someone please explain to me who buys books like these:
June 16, 2009
Collection of ideas
I have a very important Word document saved on my desktop which contains ideas for blog posts, a long list of children’s book ideas, notes for a future memoir, a list of quotes that I might one day use in a book or blog post, a few inspirational emails sent to me through the years, revision ideas for MILO and my current manuscript, and a section entitled Book/Story/Research Ideas.
This is an odd collection of ideas for future novels (at least two that I am quite serious about), sociological exp
June 15, 2009
Best place to think
I can’t explain it, and it might sound a bit cliché, but I make more breakthroughs in my writing while in the shower than anyplace else.
Today’s shower yielded an entire restructuring of my current manuscript, a means by which the story will reveal itself in a more logical, ordered way. I’ve discovered plot twists, new characters and the ending to at least one story while in the shower. Perhaps it’s because the shower is the only place where I truly unplug from my podcasts, my audio book, conv
June 13, 2009
What type are you?
Rocket Bomber describes the 7 types of bookstore customer.
I lean towards being an Independent (anytime I must stop my current audio book to interact with human beings annoys me) with strong Browser tendencies.
And yes, even though an online store like Amazon is more convenient, I like book stores. It’s the one place in the world that I enjoy browsing.
June 12, 2009
Guilt-free book club
My book club has been attempting to arrange a meeting time after a six-month hiatus during which time my daughter Clara was born. The following is a string of emails that were exchanged between us over the past two days as we attempted to organize a meeting. Our friends’ names have been changed in deference to their anonymity.
In order to follow the emails, you should note that our book club consists of three couples: Boris and Svetlana Leningrad, Sonny and Cher, and my wife, Elysha, and me.
June 11, 2009
Customer reviews of SOMETHING MISSING
Reviews of SOMETHING MISSING have begun to pop up on Amazon as part of their Vine Program. Amazon describes this program thusly:
Amazon Vine™ is a program that enables a select group of Amazon customers to post opinions about new and pre-release items to help their fellow customers make educated purchase decisions. Customers are invited to become Amazon Vine™ Voices based on the trust they have earned in the Amazon community for writing accurate and insightful reviews. Amazon provides Amaz
