A Book Blogger Survey

I receive a daily newsletter from GalleyCat.com - It's full of great up-to-date publishing tidbits. Today, I saw a link to The Book Lady's Blog. they have created an anonymous survey for Book Bloggers like us in an effort to improve blogger/publisher relationships. Check it out. It's quick and easy. The survey is open until April 20th. Once it is closed, they will then survey the publishers.

Blog about this, tweet it, facebook it! Let's get as many of us taking this survey as we can!

Author Interview w/ Matty Byloos

Matty Byloos has quite a diverse work history: a teacher, an online marketer, a painter, a musician, and a writer. He has a website - mattybyloos.com - that exhibits his work, which are definitely worth checking out. Matty's first published collection of short stories is called "Don't Smell the Floss". Dark and seedy, Matty demonstrates his flexibility as a writer by exposing the uglier, stranger side of humanity. He was wonderful enough to answer the following questions for us.


At what age did you start writing? Can you remember what your first story was about?

I think I took my book reviews in grammar school very, very seriously. Pages and pages of writing on things like *A Clockwork Orange* by Anthony Burgess that probably read more like fiction than a grade school report.

I think I took a stab at a short story towards the end of high school. I had this summer job working in a trade union in the motion picture industry, specifically at one of the main film labs in Hollywood. There were a couple of real characters there, especially in the shipping department, and they were always bantering about ridiculous experiences, probably blowing them all out of proportion. But I was a good listener, and intrigued. That first story was about a guy named Shithead Gary, who throws an old television in the back of his El Camino, convinces a co-worker to join him, and drives out to the desert to blow himself up.

A painter, a musician, a writer. Which came first? If it's possible to choose, which are you most passionate about? Which do you feel you
have to work harder at?

I think I'll have a different answer for this one every time!

Music feels like group sculpture to me, and I mean that in a way that should speak to the difficulties and nuances of getting a group of creative people together to work on one thing that exists in space. My experience of music has been very rewarding -- there is a real sense of freedom of expression, of immediacy, of trusting my gut with whatever part I come up with for someone else's material, or for a riff that I come up with that later becomes a song. But I'm a very independent person as well, and so the idea of a band being this unruly, ever-evolving thing, like a relationship or whatever, that's the part that makes it hard for me.

With writing, I feel like I can really get after an idea, write freely from an idea, and then use editing to go back in and analyze what's going on, try to make it happen more on purpose, change things around. I think both sides of my personality are represented nicely in writing, and maybe in a way that is difficult to get at for me with painting.

I do love to paint -- would probably argue for myself being a painter more than anything else if I had to put it down to one thing, but that might be shifting now. I don't do anything that I can't feel passion for, especially when it comes to creative pursuits. I think I have to work hardest at writing.

Describe your book "Don't Smell the Floss" in 5 words. How did you come up with the title?

Perverse. Probing. Baroque. Sensitive. Dangerous.

The title was just a phrase that came into my head -- and after picking it apart, it felt right to me. I think it's great to tell people to not do something, to not look at something or not think about it, because nine times out of ten, they immediately will. It's a weird part of human
nature. Like an inner rebelliousness or something, which I like to prod. Smelling the floss to me is like this impossibly visceral experience. It's unbelievable what the body is capable of making, the organic ugliness that can come out of us. I think there is something there that mirrors the
potentially awful behaviors we engage in as essentially socialized animals. All of this is intriguing to me -- those moments I think are where I've made camp for writing fiction. Dirty, visceral, ugly and possibly otherwise overlooked. There's a spot for me to feel comfortable being like an investigative reporter or something.

You recently toured to promote your book. What was that like? How have people responded to your book?

Still touring and about to get more aggressive about that, as so far, it's just been a limited west coast thing with dates in and around LA, and then up in San Francisco and Portland. I love to read to people, and if there is some sort of contemporary revival going on, sponsored by the good feelings people have about things like This American Life and the Moth in more mainstream venues, then so be it.

I think it's a lost art -- storytelling. I think that kind of sitting around the fire to listen to each other map out our collective histories is wonderful. I also am finding that on a practical level, getting one's book out to people is a really difficult proposition, and making an actual, personal connection is mandatory on some level. So you read directly to them, you talk to your audience, express gratitude for their ability to listen and their desire to be engaged by what you are making, and then people get a book. It's great.

I had my first experience last week of someone actually buying a book beforehand, and then bringing it to a reading to have me sign it. I was completely humbled.

Many of your stories contain dark, damaged characters leading sad, strange lives. Of the fourteen stories published in "Don't Smell the Floss", which are you most pleased with? Which story was the most difficult to write? Which stories resonate most with your fans?

Hmmmm... I'd have to say the pleasure of each story (and my problems with each too!) is quite individual in terms of my level of enjoyment and or comfort, and that seems to shift a lot depending on the day.

It's weird -- the stories, some of them anyway, date back quite a while, so there's a kind of ongoing process of discovery and re-discovery happening at any point for me. I love to read the character descriptions from "Conrad 'Connie' Borscht on Looking" -- those 2 actors feel very real and very close to me.

I'm happy with the weird poetics and strangeness of each of them and the pages dedicated to putting flesh on their bones. People seem to respond nicely to "...E. Leon Spaughy," the story about the Buddhist skunk who appears as a wandering spirit guide to the distressed and lonely copywriter. There are video pieces or slide shows that accompany many of the stories so far, and I've partnered with an artist named Josh Atlas to bring something different to my live readings (www.JoshAtlas.com). A different dimension, something tangential or metaphorical or at least visually compelling to allow me to read 20-30 minutes of text to a stranger without necessarily losing their attention.

I just read the "Brief History of the Tupperware Party" story for a podcast, and was very happy with that -- it was my first time reading it, and it felt very touching, this story about this sad, insecure Sasquatch-like figure trying too hard to be accepted and loved completely by his little wife. The dentist/jack-off-club/nativity bukkake story (that should be enough to make ANYONE want to read it, or you might actually be dead) is always a crowd-pleaser. For the video component, we actually got a group of dudes together to simulate some of the scenes. Cue riotous laughter and embarrassing here, please.

Are you currently writing anything? Are there any characters from "Don't Smell the Floss" that may make an appearance in future stories?

I am hard at work on a new book of short stories, all of which have been vaguely mapped out, a few of which have been completed. Something I didn't do with the first group of 14 was to get them published in journals and magazines before the book, so I'm trying to build some relationships there in order to get the work out in another way to a different audience before I go looking for someone to help me get out a second book.

Like I said earlier, the characters from "...Connie Borscht" (Pygma Meadows and Clara Latch, Connie himself and Darby Ammon), I could see myself spending some extra time with them. Not sure, though. "...Dangersby" really reads like the very confusing end of a relationship, and I could see writing my way into more of that, backwards, I guess.

What book(s) are you reading right now?

A few more pages left to go in *Platform *by Michel Houellebecq, my second read of his. Essays from Kathleen Rooney (*For You, For You I Am Trilling These Songs*), finished up Kevin Sampsell's memoir a couple of weeks ago and highly recommend it for sure (*A Common Pornography*) -- it's one of the smoothest reads I've had the pleasure of picking up recently. Also have gems from the WB press on my pile and sorting through them, Paul Maziar's *What It Is, What It Is*, and Michael Roberts, *No More Poems About the Moon*. Both lovely reads. Picked up or traded for works by Tao Lin, Matthew Simmons, Matthew Stadler -- all very exciting to me and hard not to quit my job and just read all the time....

Which 5 books would you save if your house were to catch fire?

I gave my girlfriend a first edition, signed copy of an Anne Sexton book of poems for her birthday last December, and seeing as we will be living together soon, I'd definitely put that at or near the top of my list. It really is marvelous -- being able to give someone something so precious, and also being able to imagine the poet's actual hands holding the book, and a pen, and them signing it. Super freaky to me but amazing somehow. *The Loser*, by Thomas Bernhard. A large catalogue of Peter Doig's paintings, and another of Francis Bacon's paintings. For number five, maybe something sentimental. My copy of *Catcher in the Rye* from high school. I'd also have to cheat on the total amount and can imagine grabbing *Butterfly Stories* by William T. Vollman. That would be a must read over and over again.

What is your take on eBooks and eReaders, as an author and as a reader?

My take so far is just from the gut. I hate 'em. But I also don't have one, so on a technical level, my opinion is totally worthless. I get the convenience aspect as far as traveling is concerned, and having less stuff to carry, but whatever on convenience -- sometimes I think we make things a bit too easy for ourselves, maybe. I just tend to be a bit of a romantic, purist, traditionalist, etc. about the experience of the book as an object, not a file full of neatly organized 1s and 0s. The whole thing is special, and always will be, at least to me. Buying a book, the smell of the used bookstore, unwrapping a book for a present and reading a hand-written dedication, meeting a favorite author and getting a book signed, the object itself.... I guess I just don't think "progress" is always for the best.

What authors/books/websites would you recommend to your audience?

I read Big Other, The Fanzine and HTML Giant religiously. I also like The Nervous Breakdown, Dennis Cooper's blog, and a few others. I think my audience, if I have one, might be all over the map, so I'm reluctant to say that maybe there is a site or two that perfectly suits them. I'll be starting up my online magazine again after a few years of it being dormant. Maybe that one? Smalldoggies Magazine dot com is the address, and it'll be up and running in another month or so.

(Photo:Copyright 2009 Anela Bence-Selkowitz)

Zombies Need Braiiiiins

Read 4/4/10 - 4/4/10
4 Stars - Strongly recommended
Pgs:138

Oh my god was this hilarious! And disgusting! Many thanks to Ryan Mecum for making a copy available for me, even if it did show up months later (Gotta love the postal service, huh?).

Mecum does an amazing job telling the story of a man who awakens one morning to a world full of zombies looking for just one thing - human brains. Although, for the first part of the morning, he doesn't even realise what has been happening around him (Similar to the begining of the film "Shaun of the Dead" - great movie by the way!). The man then begins to chronicle his life, as he changes from human to zombie, in haiku form - poems with a 5-7-5 rhythm.

I actually read this out loud to my kids last nite. At times, I was laughing so hard I was forced to read the lines again so they could understand me. There were also moments where we were cringing and "Eeeewing" over the graphic parts.

Here's a taste of what you will find:

"I love my momma
I eat her with my mouth closed
how she would want it"

"She's always with me
especially if my gut
can't digest toenails"

"They are so lucky
that I cannot remember
how to use doorknobs"

"Little old ladies
speed away in their wheelchairs
frightened meals on wheels"

Mecum created a commericial/book trailer. Check it out:


Be sure to also check out Mecums Vampire Haiku, and my review of it here. I cannot wait for his next release, coming sometime this year - Werewolf Haiku!

The Life O'Reilly

Read 4/3/10 - 4/4/10
3 Stars - Recommended to readers familiar with genre
Pgs:266

Many thanks to the author, Brian Cohen, for allowing me the opportunity to review his novel.

This is the story of Nick O'Reilly, named one of the Top 40 Lawyers Under 40; partner in a well known long standing firm - just assigned his first pro bono domestic custody case as a result of the firms attempt to win some popular votes with the public. This is also the story of how Nick falls in love with the woman he is representing, jepordising everything he's worked so hard to achieve, and the chain of events that follow.

While I enjoyed the story and remained engaged the entire time, I struggled to connect with the writing itself. Cohen has a distracting habit of describing everything in painful detail. Every character, each time they appear, in head-to-toe detail, starting with their age and hair color/style, to their clothing and shoes. Every room a character walks into, from rug to furniture to wall hangings. While every novelist must introduce their readers to the world they have created, and the people who populate it, Cohen's style comes across rather loudly - breaking the flow of the storyline - almost "pausing" the moment to freeze frame the person and critique them, rather than allowing their presence to come across smoothly and naturally.

An example: "She was nicely dressed in a black pantsuit, crisp white shirt with the collars spread over the lapels of her jacket, exposing a pearl necklace, and black low heeled, open toed sandals. Dawn's beauty was striking, what with her straight, shining black hair pulled back, and a face, shaped by distinctive bone structure, that was natural and touched up with very little makeup around emerald green eyes."

The straight forward dialogue between characters made this a relatively quick read. Cohen doesn't layer his language - he is clear, concise, and keeps the plot moving forward. He is not one to mince his words.

Not fully realising how the title ties in to the storyline at first, I will give you a heads up... Keep a box of tissues close!

By the way, is that not the most gorgeous book cover?!!

Banned For Life

Read 3/23/10 - 4/3/10
5 Stars- Highly Recommended
Pgs:416

Every once in awhile, I find myself reading a book that surprises me. A book that amazes me. A book that demands attention. A book that forces me to read it slowly, and thoroughly, in an effort to make it last. This is one of those books.

D.R. Haney's book was recommended to me by Greg Olear (author of "Totally Killer") - and I am so glad that he did, because had he not, I fear I may never have come across it on my own. And I want to thank Haney for mailing me a copy to review.

D.R. Haney spent 9 years of his life writing this novel - a chronicle of the life of fictitious punk rocker Jason Maddox and his obsession with Jim Cassidy, lead singer of Rule of Thumb, through the 80's and 90's.

But it is so much more than that. Banned for Life goes deep beneath the skin, exposing the raw ugliness of drugs, sex, and rock and roll. It's populated with people I can relate to, people with flaws and complexes, people who live and breathe and suffer and die. It's characters struggle to exorcise their inner demons. It's an unbelievable story written by a first time novelist.

Jason, the narrator of this faux memoir, is an emotional wreck. Oh God, is he a mess. From a very young age, Jason allows those around him to define him. No longer happy with fitting in or with following the rules, and itching for a way to break free, Jason befriends PeeWee, an outcast who has no intention of selling out to the crowd. He introduces Jason to the world of Punk Rock, and teaches him how to shed his preppy lifestyle for one that will allow him to express his inner punk and live like a true rock star.

When suddenly, in one fateful night, Jason loses his best friend, nearly loses his life, and makes the decision to lead a different life.

Broken into four parts, which encompasses four phases of his life, we meet the key players in Jason's life:
PeeWee - the match that lights this novel on fire. Fueling Jason's love for music and especially for the punk band Rule of Thumb, they start their own band and embark on a life filled with drugs, drinking, girls, breaking up, starting over, and an unhealthy amount of fighting.
Irina - a gorgeous Serbian woman stuck in a supposedly loveless marriage that he falls head over heels in love with. Theirs is a dysfunctional, emotionally twisted relationship.
Jim - the idol of his youth, lead singer of Rule of Thumb, and eventual agoraphobic poet. A needy, chaotic, abusive friendship that is doomed from the start.

Haney's novel is drenched in foreshadowing - He has perfected the "tease", dangling comments out there of the things to come, preparing us for each blow, dulling the impact of the punch but never taking away the pain.

I had to keep reminding myself that this was his first novel. The character development and intricate storyline was seamless. Not a word was wasted. The sentences flowed together, the dialogue was so natural. For me, this book is more like a work of art. Something to be felt as well as read. It passes beyond the eyes, takes up residence in the head.

Once I started, I knew I was not going to want it to end. It called to me every time I put it down. It begged. It screamed. I savored every moment of it, and I dreaded reading that final sentence.

Every once in awhile, I read a book that I think everyone else should read. A book that lovers of all genres can enjoy. A book that I wish I could buy for every single non-reader out there to prove to them what they are missing. This is one of those books.

If D.R. Haney releases a second novel, I will move mountains to be the first in line to buy it.

This is a very interesting movie trailer. Tongue in cheek, biting saracasm, I wish it were really coming out in the theater :)

Asleep Book Tour 2010

Good morning everyone! Welcome to Sally Weigel's Asleep Book Tour 2010! We are stop number 2 on a two week long blog tour where Sally will be promoting her new eBook "Too Young Too Fall Asleep", which was published by CCLaP. CCLaP's website has a list of all the blogs on the tour so you can follow her as she blog hops.

When I was asked to be a part of Sally's tour, I was absolutely thrilled. I had recently downloaded and reviewed her eBook. It's quite impressive knowing that she wrote it when she was still in high school.

Sally was kind enough to answer a few questions regarding her eBook, the writing process, and shared some personal stuff as well. Enjoy!

When did you first start writing?

SW: I started writing in middle school and never really stopped. Although, now that I think about it, I can trace back the hobby to second grade. I remember writing stories and sending them to my Grandpa. My Grandpa was managing editor of The Indianapolis Star, and published two novels after retired. He would type up my stories and bind them in a folder, as I paraded around telling everyone I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. This dream was quickly changed when I decided I wanted to be an Olympic gymnast in third grade.

What is the first book you remember reading?

SW: The first novel I really remember resonating with me was “The Mixed Up Files Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler”. I was an avid reader as a child and always had my head in a book, mostly chapter books about gymnastics or preteen novels but I reread “The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler” countless times. I went to the Met in New York City for the first time this winter and still, all I could think of was the main character of that book having a sleepover in the museum with her younger brother.

Who was your role model growing up? Who is your role model now?

SW: I am the youngest of four in my family so growing up, I looked up to my older brothers and sister. Especially my oldest brother. He was a big hippie and always king to me so I copied everything he did. He gave me John Lennon and Joni Mitchell CDs in seventh grade, and I played them on repeat all through middle school. As I grew up, I definitely came into my own. I started reading and writing more seriously. In the beginning of high school, I got really into the beatniks, reading Richard Brautigan and Jack Kerouac, fascinated by a time where literature was influential in youth culture. Recently, I can’t help but admire every project Dave Eggers puts forth. Our society is getting less and less literary, and still, Eggers has managed to create a literary empire of sorts. Even if McSweeney’s is known for being pretentious, I still think it puts out really solid writing.

Where did you get the idea for "Too Young to Fall Asleep"?

SW: The idea sprung from a short story I wrote when I was a sophomore in high school. The story was about a young man serving in WWI and coming back injured. The whole time, he reminisced on a conversation he had with an anti-war protestor before going into the war. I changed the time frame so the story would deal with the current Iraq War. Then, my editor suggested it would be interesting if the protagonist were a young, female like myself. I didn’t necessarily jump on this idea just because I thought a young, wealthy, white suburban protagonist would come off as a whiny girl who finds fault in her very safe, stable hometown. Although, I am hoping I brought more dimension and complexity to Catherine, the main character of the novella.

What was the writing and publishing process like? Are you currently writing anything?

SW: I have been writing short stories for the last year. I have many in progress and many finished that I am trying to publish. Publishing is such a disheartening process but my work with CCLaP has definitely encouraged me, even when I get countless rejection emails. Writing the novella was a lot more structured than anything I had done before. Rarely did I map out a piece of work, and having done that now, I can’t imagine just jumping into a piece of writing without a plan. Actually, the editing process took much longer than the writing process, which is how it should be I think. Even now, it takes me a year to finish a short story. I can write the first draft in a week, but won’t deem it complete until countless revisions and reorganizations of the story are done. I always liked Hemingway’s response to an interviewer when he was asked what stumped him with the revision process. He responded, “Getting the words right.” It’s true, it takes a long time to get the words right.

What book(s) are you reading right now?

SW: I’m reading contemporary, local authors. I just read Kyle Beachy’s “The Slide”. Next on my list is Don De Grazia’s “American Skin” and Michael A. Fitzgerald’s “Radiant Days”. This summer I plan on tackling strong, female authors such as Toni Morrison and Virgnia Woolf. I am a female writer who almost always reads male authors, and I want to change that.

Which 5 books would you save if your house were to catch fire?

SW: “Franny and Zooey” by Salinger, “Dharma Bums” by Kerouac, “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” by Milan Kundera, “The Grapes of Wrath” by Steinback and a collection of Calvin and Hobbes comics.

Are you currently working, and if so, what do you? Besides become a famous author, what would your dream job be?

SW: Yes, I currently work as a nanny, and I am also on DePaul’s literary magazine Threshold. In terms of a job after college, I want to write, work in publishing or teach. In addition to my passion for writing, I am also passionate about environmental issues. I could see myself taking time off after college, working with a National Park or possibly going to the Peace Corps.

What authors/books/websites would you recommend to your audiance?

SW: I would recommend reading “Franny and Zooey” in light of J.D Salinger’s recent death and mostly because I think “Franny and Zooey” taught me everything I know about becoming a writer. Also, I had the chance to hear Stuart Dybek read this year and since then, I have become obsessed with his fiction. When I read his work, I am in awe at first, then severely jealous. I just wish I could write stories like him.

Hey Good Lookin'

If you happened to visit my blog at all throughout the day today, I apologise for the mess. It went through a lot of trial and error before becoming what you see now - The new and improved TNBBC blog!

I owe it all to the greatest, most wonderfulest, super smartest IT guru in the entire world, Tina. She has the patience of a saint, and makes HTML and Hex codes and Javascript not seem so intimidating.

I am braving the world of tech-speak and tech-type slowly but surely, and while I can now confidently change color codes and manipulate image sizes, I realise I have only just begun the long and frustrating road towards mastering coding a webpage.

It's fun and interesting, and something I am determined to understand and conquer. And who knows, if I study and work hard, I may just be able to do just that!!!

R.I.P. "A Grave Surprise"....

After a long day at work, I relaxed on the couch with my current read while the kids watched TV and the puppy lounged around. It wasn't long before my eyelids refused to obey my commands, and I fell asleep.

I awoke around 11:30pm, to find both of my boys out cold on either end of the sectional, and the puppy licking my face. I rubbed my exhausted eyes, sat up and stretched, and stifled a scream as I took in the horrible scene before me!

My unread copy of Charlaine Harris' mass market paperback "A Grave Surprise" had been massacred! The front cover was torn into three slobberly pieces. Every single page, eaten clean through on the top right side, shredded and sprinkled all over my living room rug.

My hands frantically searched around for my current read (please, please, please be in one piece, please be in one piece, THANK GOD it's in one piece!), as I came to terms with the fact that the book was beyond all hope of saving. I fell to my knees and collected it's disfigured body, silently questioning how this could have happened.

It had been piled up with the two other books of the series on the middle shelf of my TBR bookshelf. It must have somehow fallen down, onto the floor, and into the reach of my puppy while I was lost in my peaceful slumber. No other books around it seem to be disturbed, so I quickly dismissed foul play.

Poor poor book. How awful it is to die a puppy breath death, having never been read! To leave this world having never felt the touch of human fingers lovingly stroking your pages, to never know the feel of a bookmark nestled between them... What a sad, lonely way to go. I am sorry I was not there to save you. I am sorry I did not hear the pained Riiiiiipppppp of each page as my puppy took the corners into his mouth and tore them.

What I am most sorry for is the fact that you are the second book of the three book series that I own, and that I will now be forced to replace you. Please do not hate me for purchasing another copy. It will never mean the same to me as you once did. It's a weakness of mine, that I wish I could ignore, but I simply can't stand to have an incomplete series.

RIP "A Grave Surprise".

The Book Blog Hop

Are you on the lookout for some new lit-blogs? Jennifer at Crazy For Books is hosting a Blog Hop. Hop on over to her site to see the rules for signing up. I've visted a few of the blogs that are listed there already, which I may never have found on my own....

Don't Smell the Floss

Read 3/20/10 - 3/23/10
4 Stars - Strongly Recommended
Pgs:182

Many thanks must go out to Matty Byloos. He is the author of the short story collection entitled "Don't Smell the Floss", and he so wonderfully sent me a copy to review.

As many of you may be aware, I have recently found a new appreciation for the short story. It allows an author more 'play' space to let their imagination run farther and faster than a full length novel would. It grants them the opportunity to try out multiple POV's and story lines, showing the reader exactly what the author is capable of. Some collections of short stories are tied closely together - Ben Tanzer's eBook "Repetition Patterns" links his stories by placing them all in the same town, living on the same streets, shopping at the same stores. Others, like "Please:Fiction Inspired by the Smiths" share a similar theme, and are a mish-mosh of stories written by multiple authors.

Matty's collection demonstrates his flexibity as a writer. While his stories share no common location or obvious surface theme, there is definitely a darker, seedier, and sometimes humorous vein of humanity connecting them beneath the skin. Trading one POV for another, each stand alone story bears it's teeth and demands to be noticed.

In "One Day, Letter From Ghost Leg", Byloos explores the twisted world of Apotemnophilia - or the obsession of self demanded amputation - and the effect our narrators particular fixation has on his leg. "A Brief History of the Tupperware Party" introduces us as the freakishly hairy character of the story, in which our mind is capable of no thoughts other than how hideously hairy and beastly we are. The hero in "Stories Leading up to, and Some Including E. Leon Spaughy" learns to come to terms with a talking skunk that has been following him around town for months. And in "My Friend the Pornographer", we meet a young man on the set of his first camera shoot for a porn film, and watch him fall hopelessly in love with it's star.

As I experienced "Don't Smell the Floss", I found myself wondering, at times, how much of Matty's message I was really getting. I admit that some of the stories went a bit above my head, but I didn't let that bother me. I sat back and let the stories tell themselves. And I thoroughly enjoyed them. Matty has a way of making the strangest, most bizarre situation seem like something that could happen to you or someone you know.

Read this book. You know you want to. You can hear it calling you.

For more information on Write Bloody Books, the publishing company, click here. This is their first published work of fiction.

Keep an eye out out for an interview with Matty Byloos, coming soon.

I'm a Host on Sally Weigel's Blog Tour

Hooray! I will be participating in my very first virtual author blog tour next week!



Sally Weigel, author of the eBook "Too Young too Fall Asleep", will be visiting a total of 10 blogs over the next two weeks. I am her second stop - so swing by on Tuesday, March 30th to see what Sally has to say about her new e-release. In the meantime, check out CCLaP's website for additional blog tour information, and to download her book.

The End of Publishing?

This is a powerful video that is causing a lot of buzz within the book publishing industry. Be sure to watch it all the way through. I love it!

Free eBooks at eBookNewser

Click here to get a free ecopy of what eBookNewser is giving away!

Robots Will Be the Death of Us!

Read 3/16/10 - 3/19/10
3-4 Stars - Recommended to readers familiar with genre/ Strongly recommend
Pgs:180

Funny thing about robots. You never know when they are going to attempt to kill you and rule the world.

David Simpson created a world in which his characters can remain forever young, never suffer physical pain, download intelligence upgrades, and simply think something to make it happen - all with the help of mini robots called Nans, that lived inside of them.

Flying instead of walking, interplanetary travel, setting your body to awaken you and put you to sleep, never having to watch a loved one die... It was heaven on Earth.

Until James and his crew of terraformers return home after a day of working on Venus to discover everyone, every last upgraded human that is, dead. Sticking together and in search of the Purists - a group of humans who choose to live natural, normal lives - James and his team take on the greatest battle of their lives: Fighting the Artificial Intelligence (AI) to save the world and the galaxy.

I really enjoyed this novel. Being a fan of science fiction, both old and new, I found myself comparing this dystopian, futuristic tale to stories like "I, Robot", "Minority Report", "The Day the Earth Stood Still", and "AI"... as it seems to be influenced by bits and pieces of each. Technology - the very thing we create - being the one thing that ends up threatening our very lives. An artificial intelligence that develops a sense of self, that wishes to exterminate it's creators, that sees us as an infestation, a nuisance.

Don't let the 3 stars fool you. I am simply recommending this novel to people who are already fans of Sci-Fi. With characters that can fly through space and use their mind's eye to create a force field around themselves, and mini-robots that live inside you, heal your wounds, and report any evil or extramarital thoughts and intentions.. I can see how this novel may not be to every one's taste.

For those of you who enjoy a good old fashioned man vs robot/mainframe story with great twists and turns, this book is absolutely for you!!

Many thanks to David Simpson for sending me this copy to review. He is currently working on a sequel to "Post-Human" and is also in the process of turning this novel into an e-comic!! Check out more information here.