Alex Epstein's Blog, page 7

Lonesome?

My friend Michael Zaidan posted this great John Steinbeck quote on Facebook:

"We are lonesome animals. We spend all our life trying to be less lonesome. One of our ancient methods is to tell a story begging the listener to say -- and to feel -- ''Yes, that's the way it is, or at least that's the way I feel it. You're not as alone as you thought.''

I once asked my friend Shoshana Marchand why we write. She said, "because you can't possibly make love to everybody."

I'm not sure which I like better.

East Hampton Star

Sasha Watson, writing in the East Hampton Star, just gave TCC a spectacular review:

Mr. Epstein's originality is in how deeply he goes into Morgan's mind and how vividly he renders her voice...

... Mr. Epstein writes deftly and movingly of the young girl and her perspective on her parents and the events that will change the direction of her life. ...

Mr. Epstein's tale ... provides a canny view of the lore as a whole, and in elegant and poetic writing he makes the thoroughly researched s...

Overlooking the Hudson

We're on vacation. Right now I'm in my parents' apartment overlooking the Hudson River. New Jersey is still shrouded in fog. I'm looking through the books I read this year for part of my upcoming blog tour. I'm struck how many times I read books by authors I love that were disappointing. I couldn't get through ANATHEM by Neal Stephenson, whose Cryptonomicon is one of my favorite books ever. Neil Gaiman's GRAVEYARD BOOK was fine, but I wouldn't rave about it, as I would rave about his SANDMAN ...

Power Bio

I thought Tim Powers' biography on IMDB was pretty funny. I wonder who wrote it?

The greatest fantasy writer of his generation, Powers has lived in southern California since 1959. ... Powers, who takes more time and care writing novels than his fans would like, went on to sell "The Drawing of the Dark" (1979, a supernatural fantasy about King Arthur and beer-drinking) ... A very accessible writer, he has often taught the Clarion Science Fiction Writers' Workshop at Michigan State University a...

Old English Rose

Very thoughtful review by Old English Rose:

Morgan, or Anna as she begins the story, is a surprisingly complex character who develops convincingly throughout the course of the novel. She starts out curious, questioning and vulnerable but quickly acquires a steely resolve and an adult mindset as she is forced to mature by her circumstances. She's so controlled and self-sufficient for much of the book that I don't find her a particularly sympathetic character, but she's still really...

Circle Cast Blog Tour

If you're looking for the details of The Circle Cast's Blog Tour, check out the Teen Book Scene Tour Details!

Cry, It's the Onion

From the Onion:

Shortly before her reading Tuesday at local bookstore Word Mentality, author Francine Massey told reporters that she does her absolute best for everyone who comes out to see her, whether it's just three people or a much larger crowd of nine people. Massey says a small group of two or three deserves as good a reading as a buzzing crowd of nine.

Massey, on hand to promote her novel A Lighthouse Keeper, said that with publishing houses slashing their marketing budgets, it often...

Jules Jones review

Jules Jones has some nice things to say about THE CIRCLE CAST:

Once I got into the rhythm of the writing I was hooked. Epstein has taken the historical period of 500AD as the basis for his story, a time when the Roman legions had long withdrawn from Britain but many of the British still thought of themselves as Roman. He's drawn on Irish mythology and blended it with modern Wiccan practice to create a believably consistent picture of magic, in a time when both Druid priests and Christian...

Schwag

You can now buy Circle Cast schwag!

Facebook

I understand there is this thing called Facebook? And books have their own pages on it?

Anyway, there is now a Circle Cast Facebook page. I hope you like it.