Aaron Starmer's Blog, page 4

Princeton Children’s Book Festival: Saturday, September 8, 2012

Guess what? I got into Princeton!

Wait a minute, though. Before you go shining up a class ring for me and calling Goldman Sachs to tell them they’ll have a new CEO in a few years, I should probably qualify that statement. I wasn’t invited to Princeton the University. I was invited to Princeton the Children’s Book Festival.

Which, of course, is even better!

Here are the details:

Saturday, September 8, 2012

11am–4pm

Princeton Public Library

65 Witherspoon Street

Princeton, NJ 08542

I’ll be hanging out i...

Free Signed Copies of THE ONLY ONES!

In less than four weeks, the paperback version of The Only Ones hits shelves. It’s hard to believe my odd little book is almost one year old. Soon it will be talking and walking and before I know it, I’ll be bailing it out of jail after it gets caught spray-painting Turk 182 on a highway overpass and…oh boy…I’m getting a little teary-eyed just thinking about it…

But that’s all in the future. For now, we celebrate. And in that spirit, I’m giving away some signed hardcover copies of The Only One...

Introducing for the First Time…

Guess what?

I’ve been holding my tongue for a few months now. Makes for awkward ice cream eating, but a man is supposed to suffer for his art, right? Thankfully, I’ve finally been given the greenlight to Paul Revere it through the cyber-streets hollering: New books are coming! New books are coming!

That’s right. My latest tales havefound a home at Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Here’s what Publisher’s Weekly’s Children’s Bookshelf said about the deal:

Joy Peskin of FSG Books for Young Readers has acqu...

Of Guns and Children’s Books

The old refrain: we’ve seen this before and we’ll see it again.

Some disturbed individual buys a bunch of guns and murders a bunch of people. The media falls in love with the story. We endure some rounds of punditry. A few folks change their minds on the issues of gun control and mental healthcare, but most of us stand firm in our opinions. Then, after a few days, we move on, until another wayward soul takes some shots at another awful legacy and we all say, “we’ve seen this before and we’ll s...

Ohio River Festival of Books: Friday, April 20

Oh, the mighty mighty Ohi’. It runs from the Alleghen’ to the Mississip’, skirting the edge of West Virginny and good ol’ Ketuck’ along the way. No, I’m not wanting for vowels. This is how I speak when I speak of rivers. Conversely, when I speak of canals, such as my beloved hometown’s Erie Canal, I add vowels (the correct pronunciation is thus ee-rye-ee, my friends). Things have gotten folksy here and you’re just going to have to get used to it.

Where was I? Oh yes, the Ohio River. About half...

Another Smattering of Reviews for THE ONLY ONES

A few months ago I did a rundown of reviews for  The Only Ones , culled from a journey deep into the wild and wooly internet. I even called upon the blogosphere to help me spread the word. Well, the word is spreading and the word, my friends, is  the bird . Here are eleven more recent reflections, including some quotable lines. Enjoy:Easy Reading Damn Hard Writing (vaguely spoilerish): "Starmer's really accomplished something here, and this book is definitely one of my favorites that I've read...

The Great and Ridiculous Movie Timeline, Part 1: The Dawn of Man

A couple of weeks ago I sat down and treated myself to an impromptu double-feature. I started with Take Shelter, the Jeff Nichol's film starring Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain. It's a brilliant little ode to paranoia. Not for everyone, but if you like your fare ambiguous, slow-burning and with a dash of doomsday prepping, then this one is for you. Since I figured my nightmares could benefit from a little more bleakness, I followed it up with John Hillcoat's adaptation of The Road. Of...

Wisdom from the Cartoon Prison

You gotta be careful in here, kid. You may be wearin' your stripes, but you ain't earned your stripes. Go it alone and you'll make mistakes. You'll hitch yourself to the wrong post, get saddled up and sold to the highest bidder. Stick by me and you might stand half a chance, but you're gonna hafta listen.

…

What's that?

…

Oh, that'd be on Tuesdays. Not a bad spread. Pickles. Onions. Standard. You'll learn the menu. More important is this here yard. How you carry yourself. Who you trust. Take...

The Epic Interview with Josh Berk, author of GUY LANGMAN: CRIME SCENE PROCRASTINATOR

Josh Berk and I went to college together. Drew University, class of 1998. It's a tiny liberal arts college in the monied wilds on New Jersey. We did not, however, know each other back then. Our ignorance is well documented.

The world spins as the world spins and it spun us both into the "billionaire's game"–aka writing novels for young readers. And that's how we finally met. It's a good thing we did, at least for me. First off, Josh was kind enough to interview me when my latest book came...

The Epic Interview with Josh Berk, author of GUY LANGMAN, CRIME SCENE PROCRASTINATOR

Josh Berk and I went to college together. Drew University, class of 1998. It's a tiny liberal arts college in the monied wilds on New Jersey. We did not, however, know each other back then. Our ignorance is well documented.

The world spins as the world spins and it spun us both into the "billionaire's game"–aka writing novels for young readers. And that's how we finally met. It's a good thing we did, at least for me. First off, Josh was kind enough to interview me when my latest book came...