When I say good writing, this is what I mean

"If he wanted, he could fire his .45 and nothing or nobody in the world would hear other than some deer or raccoons.  Least of all Tina Rutherford, the nineteen-year-old college student, white girl, he was both hoping and hoping not to find under the cloud of buzzards."

It's the placement that small word not that made me pause and admire this writer's mastery of craft.

If not was placed to the left of hoping--  he was both hoping and not hoping to find --it makes sense, scans well and it works.

But shifting to hoping and hoping not is elegant.  It's the difference between ice milk and ice cream.

This is the kind of writing that makes me slow down and pay attention.

It's from CROOKED LETTER, CROOKED LETTER by Tom Franklin, a book I first heard about at the Bookrageous podcast, and found at M is for Mystery in San Mateo.

A great podcast about books!

I'm a devoted listener of podcasts (nothing beats plugging in the Ipod on the subway and tuning out all that noise!)

Here's the link to the Bookrageous podcast, one of my new finds!  In Episode 5, the Trade Show broadcast, NUMB by Sean Ferrell gets a nice mention!


Do you have favorite podcasts about books? I'm always looking for good ones!

I will never stop missing you

David Foster Wallace left a huge hole in the hearts of his readers and fans, not to mention his friends and family when he took his own life two years ago.

His wife, artist Karen Green, has a show called "Sure is Quiet" that, without mentioning her husband directly, is about his death.

The New York Times article about the show is here.

LOSING MY COOL by Thomas Chatteron Williams

Earlier this summer the Oxford American picked their favorite summer reads. 

Their list had two books I'd read, and two books I immediately wanted to read.  You might recall we actually had a little challenge to see if any of the blog readers could pinpoint which book I meant.

One of the books on the list that I ordered is Thomas Chatterton Williams' LOSING MY COOL an elegant appraisal of  "How a Father's Love and 15,000 Books Beat Hip-Hop Culture." 

If you can refer to people in a non-fiction book as characters, my favorite character is Mr. Williams Senior, a man who read industriously and thoroughly his entire life but never for entertainment.  As in, never read a novel for fun.  I like to think that one of these days he'll retire and just read for the pure enjoyment of a story.

This is an odd thing to take from a serious and thoughtful book about culture, but I think it's a testament to this book that we see and care about the people in it, as much as think about things in new ways.

Tim Anderson cracks me up

Read this blog post and you'll see why.

PS we caterwauled enough to make him stop

"The first reaction that some people might have when you say that you wrote two novels longhand is that you are insane."


well, yea, this is, after all, Sean Ferrell you're talking to.

The lovely and elusive Helen

Michael Cunningham writes lovely, lyrical novels.Here's one of the reasons why.

Today at 4:30 in NYC meet Dr. Lissa Rankin

Meet Dr. Lissa Rankin today!

Bring your copy of WHAT'S UP DOWN THERE  with you for an autograph!
(copies are not for sale at the venue)

The festivities commence at 4:30 at:
Barbara Poelle's Office of Auctions and Other Attractions,
aka the Irene Goodman Literary Agency,
27 West 24th, Suite 700B (as in Barbara!)





I'm told by Barbara's trusty familiar Inge VonPeepenskeeven that barrels of wine are on hand, and some should still be available this afternoon.

Don't miss out!

"Speak English or else"

"If the pillory suffices, there is no need to resort to the gallows" is one of my new favorite phrases.  (another fave: "I seem to have come without my gunbelt.")


I found this phrase in one of my must-read blogs "veteran drudge John E. McIntyre's YOU DON"T SAY, this morning, and through linkage there, found this:  Speak English or else which just cracked me up.

Making twitter work for you as an author

A blog post by Robin Becker, author of BRAINS, about Twitter.

What a great piece of news!

Remember those writing contests we had so much fun with this summer?

This one in particular


Write a story, one hundred words or fewer, using these words:

Even
Tramp
Shuffle
Lair
Epic

bonus points if you can include this phrase: "Till death us do part."

The winner of that contest was probably the best entry I'd ever seen in a flash fiction contest, and a lot of you agreed with me.

And now, in the comment column today, news from the winner:

PS, four months later.

Thanks again for running this contest, Ms. Reid. I rewrote the story and it just sold to Escape Pod. Yay!

wooo hooooo!!!  Congratulations!

Reason (x+1) I ♥ New York

The Sandpit from Sam O'Hare on Vimeo.

One of the very best books on writing ever

Betsy Lerner's THE FOREST FOR THE TREES has been revised and updated.  I think it's one of the very best resources for writers at all stages of their career, but particularly helpful to those starting out.

I'm not the only one:

“Lerner doesn’t preach on how to write a book but rather tries to help writers and would be authors cope with such problems as ‘being alone with it.’ It’s a survival course. She wants to help the writer who cannot get started embark, the writer stalled between projects ingnite; She wants you to be an effective self-promoter and not a self sabateur. The book is also an affirmation that late bloomers can become successful writers.”

-The New York Times

“Lerner has a wicked sense of humor. But don’t think that means her book isn’t brilliant. It is. Cleverly disguised as a sensible reference work, [this] is in fact a riveting safari throught the wilds of a writer’s brain, as well as an honest and unpatronizing guide to publishing from every angle. Its tone is singularly authoritative, compassionate, irreverent, and unafraid.”

-Newsday

“Lerner describes the self-promoter, the natural, the wicked child, and the downright mentally ill. She explains the ambivalence that almost every writer feels about writing for oneself versus for the public…Her beautifully written book of observations and advice seems to be coming from a friend.”

-Columbia Journalism Review

“Remarkably generous about inviting writers behind the editorial curtain, [Lerner] sings like a canary the trade secrets of editors and agents, offering solid, insider advice on every step of the publishing process…with this book, Betsy Lerner becomes what every writer hopes for — a friend in the business.”

-Chicago Tribune

“With an early promise not to ‘Strunk you over the head with rules about style,’ Lerner, a former editor in New York’s top publishing houses, provides inspiring, uncondescending advice for writers.” 

-Entertainment Weekly

The new edition goes on sale this Tuesday.  Three words:

Buy it now.

Go Dana!

Fabulous interview with Dana Cameron here at Chin Wag at the Slaughterhouse.

For those of you looking for ways to attract readers to your blog, Richard Godwin's blog offers a sterling example of what to do: great interviews.  You can bet his blog is on my google reader!