Larry Closs's Blog, page 2

Beatitude: “I loved, loved, loved it!”

Beatitude has just received another 5-star review—by Monika Vig on the World of Diversity Fiction site—and I have to say that to receive a review, let alone a 5-star review, more than a year after Beatitude’s publication, is truly inspiring and gratifying. Here’s an excerpt:

“I loved, loved, loved it! Beatitude has some sad moments that brought me to tears but it also had some very touching moments that made me smile. It’s definitely bittersweet, at the same time it’s a heartwarming story of w...

A First-Time Author’s First Year

Looking back at the year that followed the publication of Beatitude, I was struck by how much my first novel had changed my life in ways I’d never imagined. Every author dreams of hitting the bestseller lists, seeing their characters on the big screen and winning all sorts of awards. And, in a way, all of those things happened. Beatitude has been No. 1 on the Rebel Satori Press fiction bestseller list since its debut. The book trailer I produced, featuring both Allen Ginsberg and Johnny Depp,...

Top Cat

Katie Jennings, founder of the fantastic I Love Book Trailers site, loves cats so it’s no wonder she loves the cover of Beatitude (by Anthony Freda) and the book trailer. “Make sure to keep watching till the end,” she says. See for yourself here.

Instagram, Beatitude and Me

Kirsten Alana and Larry Closs at The W Hotel | Photo: Johnny Manhattan

Thanks to my Instagram feed (@larrycloss), I’ve been invited to participate in 1197, the annual conference devoted to mobile and iPhone photography.

Named for the date when the first photo was snapped with a cell phone—June 11, 1997—the conference features a week of juried exhibits, workshops, photo walks, panels and prizes andtakes place this year at the Soho Gallery for Digital Art, 138 Sullivan Street, New York, February...

Word of the Day

I was on Dictionary.com recently and this was on the homepage. Coincidence?

Harry Charity, Literary Crush

Have you ever fallen for a fictional character? AuthorAnthony R. Cardnohas, and in an article titled “My Literary Crushes,” he reveals that Beatitude’s narrator, Harry Charity,is one of his latest fixations:

Harry is completely, totally, in every way, shape and form, average. And yet I still finished the book having the hugest crush on him and wishing I could do something to make him feel better. (That’s a tribute to Closs’ writing, by the way.) There are always those one or two guys we crush...

Paying It Forward… and Backward

Elise McMullen, The Galavant Girl

Elise McMullenis one of the most beautiful and insightful writers I’ve had the pleasure to publish as editor of TrekWorld. Read no further than her articles “The Young Woman and the Sea” and “Thanking the Animals We Eat” and you will instantly know what I mean.

But before Elise ever contributed to TrekWorld, she established herself as The Galavant Girl, an extraordinary journalist and photographer devotedto illuminating food, travel and the arts.Elise recently...

Happy Birthday, David Amram!

A tip of the cup to composer, conductor, author, mentor and Beat legend David Amram on his 82nd birthday! Amram generously provided incredible support for Beatitude early on with an awesome testimonial.

I finally met him in September when Amram’s Quartet performed atthe Cornelia Street Café in the West Village. Of course I asked him to sign a copy of Beatitude, which, of course, he did: “With joy to meet you and read your wonderful book. More, more,more!! Author, Author. David Amram.”Needless...

Kerouac and the Woodcutter

One of the best things Beatitude has brought to my life is the connection with like-minded souls whom I might otherwise never have met. Most recent case in point: Loren Kantor, “a passionate, curious Woodcutter/Writer living in Hollywood with a love for movies, music and old Los Angeles.” Kantor discovered Beatitude through my author site and emailed to tell me about his most recent project: a woodcut of Jack Kerouac.

That alone was reason enough to visit his site but I was taken aback by what...

Transcending Beat with David Amram

David Amram signs Beatitude

Last night, at the Cornelia Street Café in the West Village, I finally got to meet David Amram, the composer, conductor, author and Beat legend who was not only one of the first to read Beatitude but provided a testimonial for the cover as well. “A daring, honest writer with a gritty urban flair,” wrote Amram, who added that he hoped Beatitude would not be “categorized (or imprisoned) by being considered a ‘Beat’ book. It stands on its own. And it transcends Beat.”

P...