July 2, 2010
Loganberry Books Author Alley
Loganberry Books will once again be hosting Author Alley during the Larchmere Flea Market. It takes place Saturday, July 3 from 12-4. I'll be one of 40+ local authors there. I'm looking forward to seeing friends like Peter Chakerian, Sarah Willis, Janie Reinhart, and Gail Bellamy along with lots of new people. Please stop by and check out some great fiction and non-fiction by northeast Ohio writers. And the Larchmere Flea Market is pretty cool too. And if you're like my friend Peter and don't really like paper, you can now read A Body at Rest as an e-book (Kindle format).
June 5, 2010
A Body at Rest wins an IPPY
A Body at Rest has won a bronze medal for best regional fiction (Great Lakes region) in the Independent Publishers Book Awards (IPPY Awards. I wasn't able to attend the awards ceremony in NYC on May 25, but my friend Christine Whitley (who just won the Woodward/Newman Drama Prize) attended in my stead and mailed the award packet to me. I confess to putting on the (very heavy) bronze medal and walking around the house shouting "It's a major award!" (a la A Christmas Story) for nearly an hour. Somehow, my husband and child have not left me.
And now you can read A Body at Rest on your Kindle! Assuming you own a Kindle... It's bargain priced at $4.99. Why not give a new author a try?
May 8, 2010
A Body at Rest an IPPY Finalist
A Body at Rest has been named a finalist in the Great Lakes Fiction Category in the Independent Publisher Book Awards. This is the 14th annual competition held by Independent Publisher Online. This year they received something like 2,000 entries. The finalists include a large number of university and small presses (and a couple bigger small presses). I'm quite happy that the book is getting some recognition. Winners will be announced by May 18 and honored at an event in NYC on May 25 (coinciding with but not part of Book Expo). I'll keep you posted.
May 1, 2010
Great review of A Body at Rest on ReadAllDay.org and new short story published
The reviewer, Nina Sankovitch, also listed it as one of her "Great Books" and "Great Books: Life." If you're not familiar with the site, the NY Times ran a great profile on her in fall 2009.
I'm also happy to say that my short story, "Monster Jones Wants to Creep You Out," is in the new issue of Conclave: A Journal of Character (and the issue is finally out!). You can read the table of contents on the Conclave website. Conclave is a great up-and-coming journal out of Chicago. I'm delighted to be published in it.
February, 16, 2010
Interview on Port Clinton Radio
I just finished recording an interview for Talk @ Ten with Joan Bryden. It will air on Port Clinton Radio (http://www.portclintonradio.com/) this Friday at 10:00 a.m. and then be in their online archive for a week. (Only a week!) We talked about A Body at Rest and writing and other fun stuff.
In other news, my short story "Monster Jones Wants to Creep You Out," should be out in the new issue of Conclave: A Journal of Character sometime in March 2010. I'm going to try and attend the launch party in Chicago (weather and family permitting).
November 3, 2009
Book Signing at Joseph-Beth Booksellers
I'm flattered to be one of three featured alumnae authors at Ursuline College's Alumnae Appreciation Night and Fundraiser at Joseph-Beth Booksellers at Legacy Village next Thursday, November 12 from 6-9 p.m. I'll be signing copies of A Body at Rest. Other alumnae authors at this event include Janie Reinart, author of Love You More Than You Know (nonfiction), and Deborah Perez-Stable, author of That Blessed Christmas Night (children's book).Please stop by and buy a book or two (or have some dinner at the bistro). 20% of all bookstore purchases and 10% of all bistro purchases will be donated to Ursuline. Please stop by if you have a chance!
A Happy Accident
I stumbled upon this blog, which last December named my short story, "Sunday Morning in 1982," Best Short Story Published in a Lit Mag. Thought it was cool.
September 29, 2009
Lots of News
This is a quick heads-up to say that I will be in one of the Regional Author booths at the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association (GLIBA) trade show this Saturday, October 3, from 3-4 at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel.
I'm also happy to say that I had a short story accepted by Conclave: A Journal of Character for their Fall 2009 issue. Conclave is a newish journal (this is only their second issue) based in Chicago. I'm very excited that they'll be publishing me. The story is called Monster Jones Wants to Creep You Out.
On October 21 at 7:00 p.m., I'll be doing a book talk and reading at the Lakewood Public Library. Please come out and say hello!
June 22, 2009
Local Author Fair June 27
Check out Loganberry Books Local Author Fair on Saturday, June 27 from 12-4. I'll be there, selling A Body at Rest, along with 36 other area writers. Check the Loganberry websitefor more details.
A Body at Rest also received a generally favorable review from Austenprose (although I think it wasn't enough in the Jane Austen fan fiction realm to completely satisfy them).
May 14, 2009
Midwest Book Review gave A Body at Rest a great review in the May 2009 issue of its Small Press Bookwatch!
"The road brings it all out. "A Body at Rest" follows Martha and Nina as the two college-educated young women who hit the road after they grow dissatisfied with their lives. Their trip is not a usual one, as they find the literature they both love so much impacting their journey. A tale of a quarter life crisis and what emerges from it, Martha and Nina's adventure is enthralling, entertaining, and will give readers much to relate to, making "A Body at Rest" a highly recommended read."
April 11, 2009
A Body at Rest provided the jumping-off point for a nice essay at The Nervous Breakdown
March 28, 2009
A Body at Rest is getting some great reviews
If you've heard about A Body at Rest and are curious as to whether it's something you'd like, here are links to some of the reviews of the book.
Cool Cleveland.com liked it (and also conducted a nice interview)
Michele at A Reader's Respite really liked it.
The Loud Librarian wasn't sure (and that's cool too)
I also did an interview with Dee Perry on WCPN's Around Noon program (90.3 FM/Cleveland's NPR affiliate). Wanna listen to the interview?
So there you have it. A lot of good press and some incredibly positive reviews. If you're a former Liberal Arts major wondering what to do with your life or if you're just a reader looking for something that's funny and different, I hope you'll take a little leap of faith and buy my book. I think you'll like it.
March 24, 2009
A Body at Rest Is Out!
Well, the official release party isn't for a couple more days (Thursday, March 26), but the book is now available online at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com. I'm working to get it into more local indie bookstores in the Cleveland area; you could also special order it from any chain bookstore (Drinian Press distributes through Ingram). Did you know that March is Small Press Month? Why not celebrate by buying a book from a small press?
I have to say that I'm incredibly excited by the experience of releasing this book. People I know (and some I don't know) are all helping me to promote it. It's gratifying to realize that people think my work is worth an investment of their time and/or money. And it's humbling. Thanks to everyone who's helped me.
February 10,2009
Two Book Signings for A Body at Rest
In addition to the signing and launch party on March 26 at 7:00 p.m. at Mac's Backs in Cleveland, I'm going to be part of a local author book fair at Borders Books and Music at Sandusky Mall (4314 Milan Rd, Sandusky, OH) on Saturday, March 21 from 1-3. Please stop by and say hello if you're in the area. Pre-order forms for A Body at Rest are available HERE.
February 3, 2009
A Body at Rest Reading and Release Party
The official release date for A Body at Rest is Thursday, March 26. Please come and help me celebrate the release of my first novel at Mac's Backs, Cleveland's awesome indie bookstore, located at 1820 Coventry Road in Cleveland Hts. (Phone: 216-321-2665.) The reading will start at 7:00, with time to chat afterwards. Don't forget that you can download a pre-order form from Drinian Press HERE.
December 28, 2008
A reading and book release news
I'm doing a reading of a new novel-in-progress on Monday, January 5, 2009, at Heights Arts (across from the Cleveland Heights main library) at 7:00. I'll be reading with Bob Dolgan, former sportswriter for the Plain Dealer. Also on the bill is a short monologue, "Throw 'Em Smoke," written by Dick Holody and Margaret Hunt and performed by Joe Verciglio.
A Body at Rest will be published in spring 2009 by Drinian Press. Download a pre-order form HERE. :)
September 28, 2008
A Body at Rest has found a publisher!
I am delighted to say that A Body at Rest is going to be published by Drinian Press, a small regional publisher located in Huron, Ohio. I just received the contract in the mail from them a couple days ago. I don't have any details yet about the publication date, but will certainly share them with the rest of the world as soon as I have them.
June 4, 2008
New article
I have the lead article in this week's issue of Cool Cleveland. It's
an interview with Cathy Boyle, the Director of Cuyahoga Arts and
Culture, which is a regional arts and culture district funded by
revenue from a tax on cigarettes. It's a controversial tax to some,
even though it was passed by the voters. Read more about it HERE
May 6, 2008
What happened to the oral tradition?
April 13, 2008
Easy suggestions to help new authors and save literature at the same time
The more I look at the publishing world, the more I realize what a closed world it is. The mid-list hardly exists anymore, and unless you're one of the handful of huge names, you don't have a publishing contract and have to hope and pray each time you write a book that your agent can sell it (if you even have an agent).
There seems to be this resistance on the part of much of the book-buying public to move beyond the big names published by the major publishing houses. I wonder if part of the problem is that there isn't really a proving ground for young/new authors like there is for young bands (bars/festivals) or new filmmakers (film festivals). People rarely go to readings, you don't hear new literature read when you're waiting in the dentist office (and while they might have Rolling Stone or Entertainment Weekly, they don't have Glimmer Train or Tin House other lit journals). There isn't the public forum for writers to test the waters, see if they're any good, and polish their craft. And in most cities, there really isn't a culture of going to readings or of reading new voices in literature unless they've been recommended by the NY Times Book Review.
Herewith, a few suggestions you can do to help rectify the situation:
- Donate a couple copies of your favorite literary journal to your doctor or dentist's office. Perhaps someone waiting will decide to read a short story rather than a three-month old copy of Newsweek.
- If you hear about a fiction or poetry reading in your area, go to it. Better yet, organize one. If there's a college or university in your area that has a literary journal, work with them.
- Bring a friend to a reading.
- Support your local independent bookstore.
- Buy the work of new writers, especially those who are being published by small, independent presses or who are publishing their work on their own (it's not vanity publishing or self publishing�it's indie publishing, and it's no less valid than indie rock or indie film)..
- If you can't afford to buy new literature, get it from your local library. Consider it a way of testing what's out there, the same way people listen to the radio to decide what CD they want to buy.
- Give books or subscriptions to literary journals as gifts. Who needs a new sweater? Give them something good to read.
- Surround the children in your life with books.