Archive for August 2009
Well-timed and welcomed!
It’s after midnight. It’s still incredibly hot and humid, even though I’m on the Connecticut shoreline, and the sun has been down for hours. I’ve just finished loading two tons of DJ equipment into the truck and am preparing for an hour drive back home after spending the last seven hours entertaining at a wedding.…
Read MoreUncomfortable plot summaries
From postmodernbarney.com comes a list of Uncomfortable Plot Summaries—deconstructed and amusing summaries of film plots. Here are a few of my favorites from a lengthy list: BATMAN: Wealthy man assaults the mentally ill. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: Peasant girl develops Stockholm Syndrome. FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF: Amoral narcissist makes the world dance for his amusement.…
Read More.2%?
The Department of Labor surveyed American consumers to determine how they spend their annual paychecks. According to their fabulous pie chart, the average American consumer spends .2% of their annual income, or $118, on “reading.” I’m not sure if I’m happy about this or not. $118 per person? Does it seem like a lot to…
Read MoreSubconscious naming of characters
Have I told the story of Martin’s name before? Martin is the protagonist in Something Missing, and my choice of his name has an interesting story behind it. As I was writing the book, I was in therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder, the result of a violent robbery from about ten years prior, and in…
Read MoreReal-life burglars
I read this article on burglary and immediately thought of Martin. In terms of the thirteen secrets that these professional burglars share, Martin follows four of them. #3, 5, 9 and 10. A bunch of them are more appropriate for smash-and-grabbers and so not as applicable to Martin’s line of work.
Read MoreInstant communication
USA Today did a piece on authors using Twitter to communicate with their readers, something I have been doing for quite some time, and while the 140-character limit can be frustrating for someone who normally tells a story in about 100,000 words, Twitter has clearly done an effective job of bringing me into contact with…
Read MoreCome chat with me
I started a two week chat on Library Thing for anyone interested in participating.
Read MoreA fine day
After a long day of fun and sun at Mystic Seaport on the Connecticut shoreline, including a stop in Bank Square Books, an independent book store where I was unable to purchase a copy of the New York Times (but saw their last copy of my book on the shelf), I stopped in at Borders…
Read MoreInterview at RJ Julia
In case you were busy on Thursday night and couldn’t attend, I filmed a short video interview with Karen, an RJ Julia, blogger, and Twitter (@karencorvello) extraordinaire before my appearance at RJ Julia.
Read MoreCapping off a perfect day
In addition to the review in the New York Times Sunday Book Review, a handful of other reviews of Something Missing were published yesterday in a variety of locations, including: A review by Lindsey Losnedahl, Las Vegas Review-Journal assistant features editor for the Las Vegas Review-Journal A review by John Mesjak, an independent sales rep…
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