Reviews: Zazen and Sensation

Read 7/21/11 - 7/29/11

5 Stars - Highly Recommended / The Next Best Book

Pgs: 257

Publisher: Red Lemonade

The first title published under Richard Nash's newest publishing platform is a poetic, obsessive, unsettling novel that details the chaotic small town life of Della, a twenty seven year old waitress dealing with the fear and anxiety of a country on the edge of war.

Zazen, by Vanessa Veselka, is a powerful look at what society could do to itself in uncertain times. In dystopian America, where its remaining citizens wait for the real bombs to inch closer and closer, Della calls in bomb threats to pass the time. But when the businesses she targets with her pranks suddenly begin exploding, she is sucked into a situation that may be very difficult to escape.

An incredible first time novel that knocks the wind out of you, Zazen is unapologetic and honest. Veselka creates a world where emotions appear more real than the actual situations her characters find themselves in. It's a story that ebbs and flows, that's felt rather than read. It's impossible and totally plausible at the same time.

It is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful novels I've read this year. It was also one of the biggest buzz books within my indie circle (and rightly so). Did you know that I was apparently within shoulder-bumping distance of it's author at one of the BEA after-parties? Neither did I, and I have been smartly kicking myself in my ass since discovering this fact.

Read 7/30/11 - 8/6/11

3.5 Stars - Strongly Recommended to readers familiar with genre

Pgs:198

Publisher: PM Press

Sensation by Nick Mamatas is a first for me in many ways. It's my first encounter with this publishing company, who publish political, edgy fiction and non-fiction. It's my first experience reading the author, who has two previous novels under his belt. AND - probably most importantly - it's the first time I've ever willingly read a novel whose story line revolved around spiders and wasps.

If you are familiar with me and my irrational fears, you'll know that spiders top the chart of things I am terrified of. Thank god the book didn't have one sitting menacingly on the cover, because I don't know if I would have had the courage to look at it, let alone pick it up to read it.

Sensation, like Zazen, is set in a parallel America. In this one, humans are not the only intelligent species - although they think they are. There is an age old war brewing between spiders and wasps, and our unsuspecting characters are about to find themselves smack in the middle of it all.

The story is narrated by the collective consciousness of the spiders, who are walking around amongst the public , spying on them from within the brainpans of men of indeterminate ethnicity. They report on the whereabouts of Julia, a woman who was stung by a wasp - get ready to be grossed out - that laid its eggs in the sting wound. These eggs, which send out certain chemicals that change the behavior of their host, compel Julia to kill a man, which inadvertently begin a nationwide sans nom movement. The spiders, in their human transports, whisk Julia away to the Simulacrum in an effort to contain and protect her. But the movement continues, and with it, so does the war between insect and arachnid.

Many, many times as I read, I found my skin crawling. Just the thought of spiders being these hyper-intelligent super-spies turns my stomach. Every time I see one now, I think - What are you looking at, you little fucker? - right before I smear its guts across the wall.

This novel was, by far, one of the stranger ones I have ever read. Readers must be able to suspend their own realities in order to experience its full effect. It certainly poses the question of free will vs. puppetry. Are the decisions we make truly our own, or are they a result of someone or something else's influence over us?

Which also ties Sensation back to Zazen. Both novels deal, in part, with underground, controversial movements that are started unintentionally by our leading ladies, who then find themselves swept up in the chaotic aftermath.

In Zazen, Della finds herself tied to a group of people who plot setting off small bombs and taking out transmission lines in an attempt to cripple what little parts of their America are still functioning. Her bomb threats appear to be the catalyst for this little group of anarchists, and Della goes along with the group until she realizes just what it is they are after.

For Sensation, it's the message Julia leaves on the side of an unwanted stadium that is still under construction. The message filters through the country slowly, and soon becomes a media and internet movement set on bringing the world down to its knees, sucking Julia back into the fray, whether she likes it or not.

Whether it's bombs or warring spiders and wasps, both novels demonstrate the speed at which humans react and society collapses when left to their own devices. They also show the speed at which people can come together and join forces to make positive impacts as well.

Why Everyone Should Read an Indie

If you know me at all... you know that, about a year ago, I fell hard and fast for Two Dollar Radio. As far as independent publishing goes, they put out some of the best literature I have ever read. They are also leaps and bounds ahead of their sisters and brothers.

Shall I count the ways?

1. They offered up the first ever lifetime subscription to anyone hardcore enough to tattoo their logo on their body. (This rocked the indie world so hard that two other publishing companies attempted to steal their idea and market it as their own.. posers!)

2. Today, after a cool experience with Drag City, they added a recommendation service to their repertoire. Tell them what authors, books, or movies you like, and they will customize a recommendation from their catalogue to best match your tastes. They'll accept requests via twitter, facebook, and their blog.

Yup. I think I can stop counting now.

Go. Do. And be prepared for Two Dollar Radio to become your new favorite publisher.

(And if you don't mind, tell 'em TNBBC sent you!)

Indie Book Buzz: Coffee House Press

Indie Book Buzz is a cool feature here at TNBBC. Over the past couple of weeks, we have been inviting members of the indie publishing houses to share which of their upcoming 2011 releases they are most excited about!

This weeks picks come from Coffee House Press Publisher Chris Fischbach,

and Marketing and Sales Director Jessica Deutsch.

Fall 2011

Christopher's Pick
Glass by Sam Savage

The book I’m most excited about this season, though of course I’m excited about all of them, is Glass by Sam Savage. This is not a book for everybody. The best novels never are. If you want to make a lot of money as a novelist, you should write a compelling novel with an exciting plot filled with significant events and how these characters react to these events, revealing an important “portrait of our time,” etc. etc. You will get great reviews and be very popular. Go to town. Glass is not one of those books. It is, in fact, very much intentionally not one of those books. If you want to read one of those, books, you could also watch many of the excellent television shows available to audiences today. But a novel can be something different than a television show. What can a novel do that a television show can’t? Plenty.

Edna, our narrator, and Sam Savage, our author, directly challenge the “fallacy of significant events”—that great art has to be driven by the remarkable, the tragic, historical moments of catastrophe or confusion. Can you write a great novel with the bare minimum of plot? Of course you can. Ask Nicholson Baker, Sterne, Beckett, Markson, Joyce. Of course such work is not currently in vogue, if it ever was. Read Glass using the same tools you use when you read those authors, and you just might fall in love with Edna, and with Glass.

Edna, who reluctantly agreed to write the preface to a posthumous edition of her late husband’s long-out-of-print novel. This book is her attempt at that preface, but as you’ll see, Edna has a very active mind, and is easily distracted by the tiny details of her isolated, lonely life in a cluttered apartment. What eventually unfolds, as if by accident, is the story of a marriage and a portrait of a mind pushed to its limits. The reader is never quite certain if Edna’s preface is an homage to her late husband or an act of belated revenge. Is she the cultured and hypersensitive victim of a crass and brutally ambitious husband? Or was Clarence the long-suffering caretaker of a neurotic and delusional wife?

Jessica's Pick
Sleight by Kirsten Kaschock

When I first read Sleight by Kirsten Kaschock, I was so excited to read a novel that was not only powerful and intriguing but also, well, truly novel. What is sleight, you might wonder. The only way to know is to read Sleight. In her debut novel, Kaschock has created a fictional art form—and an entire world around it.

Sleight is an interdisciplinary art form that combines elements of dance, architecture, acrobatics, and spoken word; it pushes its participants to the edge of their physical, mental, and emotional limits. As Kaschock tackles the translation of the visual to the written, she describes this art form just enough to let the reader do some of the imagining too. (I’m sure if I drew a picture of what I thought Sleight looked like and what another reader drew, it’d be a fun exercise in comparison. That is if I had any talent in that department at all.) As she boldly invents a grammar and a vocabulary to accommodate the concept of sleight and its characters, Kaschock performs a kind of linguistic gymnastics on the page.

All of this happens as we enter the curious and compelling world of two sisters named Lark and Clef who have spent their lives honing their bodies for sleight. Lark has left the rigors of sleight and now involuntarily “births” what she calls Needs, while Clef has remained fully immersed in the sleight world. After many years of being estranged, the sisters are reunited by a troupe director named West. When a disturbing mass murder involving a group of children makes national headlines, West seizes on the event as inspiration for a new performance. At the heart of the novel lies an exploration of loss, creation, and artistic responsibility.

Sleight blurs the edges of reality. Parts of the novel—the mass murder, Lark’s Needs, the idea of “wicking” (sleightists will often disappear during a performance)—were reminiscent of my most curious dreams and nightmares. It’s as if Kaschock is able to dig into the trenches of our subconscious and weave a story out of the riff raff and detritus. But in Sleight, these whiffs of the horrific and fantastic and unreal are juxtaposed with the tenants of “real life” – family tensions, falling in and out of love, work, and obsessions. Prepare yourself for the world that is Sleight—its unlike anything you’ve ever read before.

About Christopher

Chris Fischbach is the publisher of Coffee House Press, where he started as an intern in 1994. He acquires and edits fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, and has worked closely with Sam Savage, Kao Kalia Yang, Patricia Smith, Anne Waldman, Gilbert Sorrentino, Laird Hunt, Rikki Ducornet, Mary Caponegro, Ron Padgett, Eleni Sikelianos, Wang Ping, and many more.

About Jessica

Jessica Deutsch is the Marketing & Sales Director at Coffee House Press. She lives in Minneapolis. You can find her on Twitter @jessicadeutsch and @coffee_house_.

I've only recently discovered the awesomeness that is Coffee House Press. And I am very happy to be able to showcase the books they are most excited about this fall!!

So what do you think guys? See anything that catches your eye? Which of these books are you most excited to see release? Help TNBBC and Coffee House Press spread the buzz about these books by sharing this post with others!

Indie Spotlight: CCLaP

I've always been fascinated by independent publishing. What's even more fascinating to me is the story of how they each came into being. Each one is conceived differently, born out of different motivation, and performs a unique service to the literary community. But the most fascinating thing of all are the stories of their successes.

As it approaches it's 4 year anniversary, I share with you the success story of CCLaP - Chicago Center for Literature and Photography.

The Starting Point

Owner Jason Pettus shares how middle-age can be a man's best friend, too: "Plans for CCLaP started way back in 2004, when I found myself entering middle-age for the first time and becoming increasingly unhappy with pursuing a career as an artist myself, but wanting to do something next with my life that would still let me use the skills and resources I had put together in my youth.

The main motivation, frankly, was to try to start an organization that would do many of the things I desperately needed a group to do for me back when I was a writer, the things that mostly influenced my quitting writing in the first place -- help independent writers edit and hone their work, help them lick the stamps and fold the envelopes and all the other drudgery that artists themselves never want to take on, just basically act not like a traditional patron but more like an equal partner with these artists, where they do the fun half of the work and CCLaP does the boring half, and we then split whatever money is made from it all."

First Things First

Knowing what you want to do is one thing. Actually being able to DO it it quite another. Jason explains: "The first thing I did when deciding to start CCLaP was to give myself a "self-taught MBA," essentially by reading several hundred books on small business, marketing, entrepreneurialism, time management, and a bunch of other subjects along those lines, by bugging a bunch of small-business bloggers, and by signing up for a mentor with a group called SCORE, an organization of retired senior corporate executives who team up with the Small Business Administration in many cities to provide advice and guidance to beginning entrepreneurs like myself.

It was in these years as well that I wrote CCLaP's first business plan, which originally called for the center to open all at once in this really big way (including a physical space in the city, a gallery, classes and workshops, live events seven nights a week, books, merchandise, and a lot of other stuff), and that needed a business loan of $50,000 to execute; but needless to say, I wasn't able to find anyone willing to loan me that kind of money, nor even $5,000 when I severely shrank the plan in 2006."

Not one to let money stop him from achieving this new vision, Jason changed his tactic: "In 2007, tired of having endlessly discussed CCLaP in theoretical terms only for the last three years, I finally decided to open with a plan that required no upfront money at all, and to just start only with things I could do literally for free (like a podcast, book reviews, electronic publishing, live events at other people's existing venues, etc), and to slowly build from that point using whatever money these no-budget projects brought in. It's safe to say that it means a lot to me personally that CCLaP is celebrating its fourth anniversary this summer."

Reminiscing and Celebrating

Looking back, Jason shares the ever-present doubt of making it last: "There's been a pretty serious question over whether the center was going to survive at all, and even with its successes I've mostly had to wade these four years through an endless series of people wanting to tell me all the ways CCLaP was bound to fail. And that's what makes it so nice professionally as well, because the center is a literal working example, something people can literally point to, when wanting to argue, "Look, here's a person who started literally only with a donated website and $30 in business cards, and he's now published six original books that have been collectively downloaded several thousand times, and has interviewed Pulitzer nominees, and has been featured on Boing Boing twice, and once so rattled a mainstream publisher that they changed the very way they do business."

"You don't have to start with a lot of money or connections to make a big splash; that's something that I and others have been arguing for years, but it's really nice now with CCLaP to have something to literally point to and say, "And this proves it in indisputable black-and-white terms!"

From Digital to Handmade Hardbacks

As publishing company that primarily deals with eBooks, Jason discusses CCLaP's recent addition of bound books: "It's been part of the plan all along; and for those who don't know, I should explain that I'm taking a cue off how a lot of musicians do things now as well, and have decided to completely skip the trade-paperback level of small publishing altogether, and to only have either the electronic version that people can download for free, or the fancy handmade hardback edition that costs a little more than normal.

It was always my contention to use these handmade paper versions to financially offset all the free ebooks we were giving away, just so that author would have as big an audience as possible, so it's gratifying to actually have that aspect of it all up and running now, and to get several more thousands of dollars directly into artists' hands each year than I was before (although to be clear, even the free ebooks tend to generate several hundred dollars apiece in revenue themselves, because of CCLaP's "pay what you want" donation system)."

The Future's So Bright....

"As far as CCLaP's near-future, it's essentially more of what you're seeing these days, which is one of the most important lessons I learned during my self-taught MBA; that it really behooves a small business to first become an expert at everything they're currently offering their customers, before deciding to add something new.

The center's now doing something like seven or eight things on a regular basis, some of which (like the book reviews and podcast) I can do almost in my sleep by now, and some (like the paper books) I'd like to get more experience at before moving on to something else. So, another four original books will be coming from CCLaP in 2012, another two dozen podcast episodes, another 150 book reviews at the blog, and another handful of live events and other get-togethers here in Chicago, although I think it's likely that you'll see a significant increase in retail exposure for CCLaP's stuff in the next year, both in traditional bookstores and in quirky independent giftstore-type boutiques around the country, which frankly I'm more interested in than the bookstores themselves.

In general, I expect most of the growth at CCLaP in 2012 to be behind the scenes (more money, stronger local relationships, etc), so that we'll be ready to launch something brand-new and truly impressive in 2013."

It's a Release-Slash-Anniversary Party

...and everyone's invited! CCLaP is celebrating it's 4th anniversary in style with a quadruple release party on August 10th. The gathering will be held at the popular Beauty Bar in the Bucktown neighborhood in Chicago for drinks, free food, and a half-hour reading from all four featured authors - Mark R Brand, Jason Fisk, Sally Weigel, and TNBBC favorite Ben Tanzer.

The free event will take place from 7 to 9 p.m., the reading itself from 8:00 to 8:30.

All four authors' books will be for sale individually for $20 apiece; or for one night only, attendees can purchase all four in a bundle for only $50.

If you go, be sure to take pictures so I live vicariously through them! And give Ben a hug for me.....

One Book, Two Blogs

Book Sexy Review & TNBBC have joined literary forces! We are very excited to announce the birth of our first ever LIVE book club, appropriately titled....

One Book, Two Blogs

It will be meeting in person for the first time on September 1st at 6:30pm, and will be hosted in the world's oldest book store - Moravian Book Shop - located in Bethlehem, PA!

We will be discussing Tom Franklin's novel

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

We would love to have you join us! If you live near the Bethlehem area and would like to become part of the One Book, Two Blogs book club, email us at onebooktwoblogs@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter using the hashtag #1B2B. Walk-in's are welcome!

We look forward to discussing literature with you!!

Book Giveaway: Love on the Big Screen

TNBBC has a great new novel up for grabs!

Bill Torgerson's novel Love on the Big Screen

will be featured in September for our Author/Reader discussion.

In order to stimulate discussion, we have 5 books to give away.

4 copies will be given to residents of the US and Canada

1 copy will be given out internationally

Here is the book description as it appears on Goodreads:

Meet Zuke, a college freshman whose understanding of love has been shaped by late-eighties romantic comedies, and who attends a school so strict it's against the rules to go to the movies. Zuke and his buddies, separated from the women on campus and forced to entertain themselves, form a club called the Brothers in Pursuit, which holds weekly meetings during which all the members dress in matching and embroidered boxer shorts, stand at attention to Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors," and report back to one another on their objectives: God, knowledge, compassion, and women. Love on the Big Screen is a novel of friendship, the dangers of romanticized love, the complexities of faith and real life, and what happens to one young man as he finds out that life is nothing like the movies he loves.

The contest will run through August 10th.

Here's how to enter:

1 - Simply comment here stating that you would like to receive a copy of the book. If you have a favorite memory of an 80's band or movie, I encourage you to share it!

2 - Tell us if you are a resident of the US/Canada or if you are international, and leave me a way to contact you.

*If your comment is missing any of this information, it will be considered ineligible.

3- Agree to participate in a group read book discussion that will run during the month of September over at TNBBC on Goodreads. Bill Torgerson has agreed to participate in the discussion and will be available to answer any questions you may have for him.

*If you're comment is chosen as a winner, by accepting the copy you are agreeing to read the book and join the group discussion at TNBBC on Goodreads (the thread for the discussion will be emailed to you at the first of the month).

Winners are chosen randomly

and will be announced here and via email

on August 10th.

Good luck!

Tell Me A Story: Ryan Bradley

Welcome to another installment of TNBBC's Tell Me a Story!

Tell Me a Story is a monthly series that will feature previously unpublished short stories from debut and Indie authors. The request was simple: Stories can be any format, any genre, and any length. And many amazing writers signed up for the challenge.

This month's story comes from the hands of Ryan Bradley. Ryan is the Co-Publisher and Editor of Artistically Declined Press, Creater of Aesthetically Declined Design, and author of the recently published Prize Winners, as well as a poetry chapbook title Aquarium. The story he shares with us today is part of a short story collection he is currently shopping around. I hope you enjoy it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trench Swimmer

The vapor flare cracks, makes it sound like I’m under a jumbo jet, instead of on a pump station pad in the arctic. The Mud Dog is my truck. Says “Fido” on the driver’s side door. I’m dressed in rain gear, the rubber pants swishing between my thighs. Water’s building up in the north trench and there’s nothing I can do about it.

Danny lumbers back from the 9-hole, a set of port-a-potties enclosed in a shack. We stare over the edge. The trench was twenty-six inches across and four feet deep when we dug it. Now the sides are caving in and the bottom is silting. The electricians won’t be able to lay cable at this rate.

The twelve volt water pump is on the fritz again, and we’re both plumb out of ideas. I grab a bucket out of Fido’s side hatch and toss it to Danny, still looking at his two-day stubble in the ground water reflection.

“You know what to do,” I say over the whip of the flare.

Back at Danny’s side I kneel down and peel off my left boot. A hundred dollars down the trench, I think and dip it into the rising water.

Danny and I dish the water frantically out of the hole, cussing the damn sparkies and their cable.
“I got a cable I’ll lay for ‘em,” Danny says.

When we get back to camp tonight I’ll borrow a company truck and head into the general store in Deadhorse. Buy myself a new pair of boots. Other than that it'll be the same thing tomorrow. Wake up at four, on the bus at five, to the pump station by six. Danny and I'll be driving the Mud Dog, sucking dirt and permafrost to make way for cables, all so we can fill it back in when the electricians are done.

"Dare you to swim it," I say, not even thinking about the words that are coming out of my mouth.

Danny looks up at me with a slack-jaw expression worthy of a steelhead that's just been pulled out of the water. "You losing it?"

"Just trying to break the monotony." Suddenly I'm overwhelmed by the sheer routine of the job.

"You want to break the monotony so bad, why don't you swim it?"

Before he can start his half-chuckle half-smoker's cough, I'm peeling off my other boot, and throwing off the rain gear.

"You have lost it," Danny says, standing up from the edge of the trench.

I don't say a word, just keep stripping until I'm in my gray underwear, goosebumps forming all over my body. I put my hands together over my head like a swimmer you’d see in the Olympics or something and dive in. When I hit the water all these thoughts rush through my head. Like how I'll probably lose my job. Or how I'll always be known as the trench swimmer. It'll become a tall tale. Guys doing this work for years to come will tell the story, each year making it a little bigger, a little more spectacular.

They'll use the story to forget about digging trenches twelve hours a day, seven days a week. I close my eyes against the silt and mud. My skin, my insides, feel like layers of permafrost. It's worth it, I think, wondering how long I can stay under before I'll have to rise to the surface for air.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I want to thank Ryan for participating in TNBBC's Tell Me a Story. If you like what you've read, please support Ryan by checking out his website and books. Help spread the word by sharing this post through your blog, tumblr page, twitter, Google+, and facebook accounts. Every link counts! And be sure to check back with us next month for the next installment....

Indie Book Buzz: Unbridled Books

Indie Book Buzz is a cool feature here at TNBBC. Over the past couple of weeks, we have been inviting members of the indie publishing houses to share which of their upcoming 2011 releases they are most excited about!

This week's picks come from Libby Jordan, who handles the Marketing, Publicity, and Social Media for Unbridled Books.

Fall 2011

The Mistress Contract

by She and He
October 2011

This one’s the “conversation starter” on our Fall list. Everyone who reads it, has something they must share afterwards. From “[It] just about made my brain explode!” to “My brain is on fire.” and all points in between. This one made me think — about things like: How far we’ve come in our revolution as women . . . and how far we still have to go as human beings. It made me think about the vulnerability of men and how we, as women, don’t always see that for what it is. And, especially, it made me to think about my own point of view when answering the question: Would I have put forth — and signed — that contract?

THE MISTRESS CONTRACT opens with a piece of paper that was signed in 1981 by a woman and her wealthy lover. The contract establishes an exchange that she thinks fair: If he will provide an adequate and separate home for her and cover her expenses, she will provide him with “mistress services”: “All sexual acts as requested, with suspension of historical, emotional, psychological disclaimers.”

For the duration of the agreement, she will become his sexual property. Then — on a small recorder that fit in her purse — this extraordinary and unconventional couple began to tape their conversations about their relationship, conversations that took place while traveling, over dinner at home and in restaurants, on the phone, even in bed.

This book is based on those tapes. It is a candid — and true — account of what they had to say to each other privately about the arrangement and its power relations, their physical relationship and the sexual forces that shaped it. As private and intimate as it is, though, the book also turns an unblinking light on a period of intense upheaval between men and women.

Looking back now, thirty years later, this extraordinary couple — who are still together — are willing to reveal their most private moments to our scrutiny. What they capture in THE MISTRESS CONTRACT is an unapologetic revelation and a bold provocation.

TOUCH AND GO
by Thad Nodine
September 2011

You’ve heard me talk about this one before — yep . . . time for a Road Trip! This is the one that makes me smile and glad to be alive. Think As I Lay Dying meets Little Miss Sunshine with a hint of On the Road. Jonathan Franzen called it “a high-velocity vision quest that keeps surprising and surprising.” I call it: A darn good read!

To escape an addiction, a young blind man in California steps into a station wagon with his slightly off-kilter friends and their foster kids to deliver a handmade casket [strapped to the roof of the car] to a dying grandfather in Florida. As they battle their way across the southern half of the nation, this rag-tag American family falls prey to love and lies, greed and violence, crime and Katrina — and all manner of strange things up there in that casket.

With a voice reminiscent of John Irving, Nodine produces a classic “road-picture” novel.

A rich and rangy story about the careful and careless ways we treat each other—and ourselves—in a fast-paced, changing world. Kevin, the novel’s blind narrator, is one of the most perceptive figures in recent fiction. And his desire to do no harm is positively contagious. Through Kevin’s rich senses and boundless compassion, Nodine gives us a multicultural portrait of a true America. The Real Deal. And he does so with deep affection for everyone along the way.

AN ACCIDENTAL MOTHER
by Katherine Kindred
September 2011

Our second nonfiction title on the list this season, AN ACCIDENTAL MOTHER pulled on my heartstrings long after I closed the book. This is the one that made me cry.

After her divorce, Kate Kindred decided that she would live her life without children. But then she fell in love with Jim, a handsome, caring man who had custody of his two-year-old son, Michael. And she fell in love with the boy, too. During the six years they all lived together, Kate learned the deep joys of motherhood—that was the gift that Michael gave her. But when her relationship with Jim ended, he denied her any contact with Michael.

And her heart was broken.

AN ACCIDENTAL MOTHER beautifully describes the joys of mothering a young boy through complicated times. With sweet simple anecdotes and complex emotions, Kate Kindred marks every page with tears, including those that the most loving laughter can bring to any parent.

About Libby

I've been working on marketing, publicity and social media with the Unbridled Books team for the past three years. What's my favorite genre, you ask? That's a little like asking what's my favorite kind of candy — it changes with the season! Summertime, for me, is very definitely all about nonfiction. I'm sure once the Fall arrives, I'll slip into something a little more noir.

Greg Olear Cast My Chart

It's not every day that an author offers to read my chart! So I took full advantage, and felt incredibly flattered, when the opportunity arose. Now, if you know me at all, you'll know that I'm not one to read my daily horoscope. I don't really put a lot of stock in the stars. But it sure is fun to see how things line up now and again. Plus, I have a super cool Zodiac, and Greg Olear is a super cool dude... (and before you go and question me on the relevance of posting a zodiac chart on a book blog, helloooo... it was created by a kick-ass author!) so check it out *:

Pluto in the First House is the most important planet in your chart. The First House is your personality; how you appear to others. Pluto brings strong leadership, occasional bursts of tumult, and a tendency to change. The volatility of Pluto is mitigated by the Pisces Sun, which brings great sensitivity and, because it’s below the horizon, a propensity to brood…or, at least, to wax artistic. You are a Libra Rising, too, which also serves to harness the angry power of Pluto.

There is no earth in your chart at all, which means you’re not well grounded. You are mostly air and water…you operate at a high intellectual level, your thoughts move quickly from one idea to the next, and because you are a Libra Rising and you have both Venus and Mercury in Aquarius, the highest of air signs, you are particularly good at communicating these ideas. All of that, plus Pisces below the horizon and the placement of the Venus/Mercury conjunction in the Fifth House, indicates an artistic touch.

Saturn in the Tenth indicates a fear of public failure, or career failure…that plus Pluto’s prevalence suggests you’ll probably change careers a lot (and Uranus in the Second suggests lots of dramatic shifts in income levels) especially early on, before finding something in which you can shine. The Moon in the Seventh suggests that your partner is the most important person in your life, your filter and touchstone; that you married young; and that before that, you didn’t like to be single.

Also, you have a lot of cardinal energy, which means you’re better at starting projects than finishing them.

* A huge thanks to Greg for taking time to whip this up and doing such a great job of it! Did you know he is a semi-professional astrologer?

And now, gentle readers, I leave it up to you to decide what fits and what doesn't :)

The Worlds of Indie and Self Publishing are Colliding

The face of publishing is changing. Traditional hardcover, original paperbacks, trade and mass marketed paperbacks are suddenly finding themselves competing with eBooks and POD publishing. The days of worrying about submission policies and fretting over rejection letters are quickly becoming a thing of the past. With sites like Lulu, Blurb, Booksurge, and Createspace, the ways in which a writer can become a published author are seemingly endless.

In this new era of publishing, the line between true indie authors and self published authors is becoming extremely blurred. The word "indie", as we know it, is evolving. No longer is it exclusively used to describe small press and not-for-profit publishing houses. Self published authors are now appropriating the word to describe themselves.

Which, if you look at the definition of "indie", may actually make a fair bit of sense:

1. One that is unaffiliated with a larger or more commercial organization
2. An artistic work produced by an independent company or group

A few months ago, in an effort to better understand this movement or evolution of self published authors who suddenly began referring to themselves as indies, I created a monthly series for my blog, called On "Being Indie" - where I invited traditionally published authors, true indie authors, and self published authors to define what being indie meant to them. Here's what a few of them had to say:

• Self published author and owner of Lorena B Books, Lorena Bathey: " I like the moniker Indie author because it fits the definition more than simply self-published. As an Indie author you must be writer, editor, printer, sales, marketing, publicity, and promoter all rolled into one."

• Self published author and owner of {Tiny TOE Press}, Michael Davidson: "Indie writers create their thing on the outside, prepared for a litany of small failures...There's infinite hope".

• Self published author Penelope Fletcher: "To me, an Independent Author is a creative soul who understands the fundamental need to be business orientated".

• (Upcoming) Traditionally published author James Boice: "The term indie... connotes something, and it is this: underdog".

• (Upcoming) Traditionally published author David Maine: "..indie writers... can be trusted to know their own work, and their own talents, and their own strengths as storytellers, as well as or even better than the editors and marketers in the publishing industry".

I could post these definitions all night long, and I guarantee that no two would be exactly alike. But I think you are catching the gist of it, right?

The interesting thing to note, the thing I've been seeing more and more recently, is the self published author's tendency to create their own publishing company - which I've read is quite cheap and easy to do. Pay a fee, fill out a few forms, think up a unique name, and voila... you are no longer a self publisher, but owner, publisher, editor, marketer and independent author!

I want to introduce you to two wonderful independent presses that were created by authors who wanted to publish their own work, but who also willingly took on the responsibility of all other aspects of publishing for other writers:

Artistically Declined - Owner and independent author Ryan Bradley

Curbside Splendor - Owner and independent author David Victor Giron

I recently attended a local book expo at my library, where I had an opportunity to meet Mary Shafer of The Word Forge, and listen to her speak about the pros and cons of self publishing. She explained that we are on the cusp of a major paradigm change - the world of "dead tree" publishing versus POD and Digital publishing. She likened it to turn of the century, when the world made the change from horse and buggies to automobiles.

There are those of us that cling to the traditional ways, that appreciate the book as an object, while the younger generations are moving forward with digital technology. They recognize that with this new digital technology comes a whole slew of advantages, some of which have created unlimited advantages for the self publishing crowd.

Here's an informative video that lays out the pros and cons of self publishing....

Guide to Self Publishing

So whether you are a true indie author, published through an independent press where you went through the traditional submission, rejection, and acceptance process - or you decided to self publish via LuLu or Createspace - OR you decided to meld the two by creating your own publishing company and self publishing to the tune of indie author.... there is a growing space for you out there in the publishing world. And it's expanding every day. And there are more and more bloggers and book reviewers out there, like me, who are willing to support you and help spread the word.

And when the dust from those worlds colliding has settled, will self published and indie authors be standing side by side, shoulder to shoulder, on equal ground? Will the public start to see self published authors as more than editorially and compositionally inferior to true indie and traditionally published authors?

Come find out as I discuss this in even greater detail at the Indie Book Event this coming Saturday (July 30th) in NYC at the New Yorker Hotel!

Review: Fight For Your Long Day

Read 7/6/11 - 7/20/11

3 stars - Recommended to readers familiar with genre

Pgs: 264

Publisher: Atticus Books

So you think you've had a long, hard day? You ain't see nuthin' yet! I dare you to compare your worst against Cyrus "Duffy" Duffleman's in Fight For Your Long Day.

In Alex Kudera's first novel, which won the regional IPPY award for best fiction in the mid-atlantic region, he introduces us to the overweight, underpaid, unattractive adjunct english instructor. Unhappily working multiple jobs to make a respectable wage, Duffy has accepted part time teaching jobs at four urban Philadelphia colleges.

On his longest day, Duffy will fight to survive every curve ball the universe throws at him as he makes his way from one side of the city to the other, commuting from college to college. And boy, does it throw some doozies. From reporting a mentally unstable student who makes racial comments and cries rape in class, to witnessing a political assassination attempt, to nearly being attacked in the subway by a voter-registration man, Duffy manages to scrape by on the hopes of getting laid later that night by one of students. One thing is for sure, this poor guy has made an art of being in all the wrong places at all the wrong times.

Lonely and mostly introverted, Duffy spends most of his long day deep in thought, thoughts which range from deep and sentimental to shallow and perverted. He experiences guilt at not being able to help the homeless he sees in the streets and subways (and perhaps the fear of one day becoming one of them). He worries about his students' well-being. He mentally deconstructs the political and emotionally frustrating educational system he finds himself trapped in. But he also obsesses over teenage tits and ass and pines for sexual attention. He thinks about sex so often, in fact, that he finds himself sporting half-hard boners on and off all throughout the day.

(sorry, guys, but it's the truth. Tell me none of you have ever done that!)

He's one of the most likeable unlikable protagonist I've read in a long time. And that's a nod in Alex's direction. Not many authors can turn such a homely, self conscious guy into a hero.

As I read the book, I found myself mentally categorizing it as the bizarro version of Ian McEwan's Saturday. I hated Saturday. It bored me to sleep, literally. For two weeks I struggled to get to through the book. It was an incredibly boring, dry, uneventful day in the life of a well-to-do neurosurgeon. Fight For Your Long Day, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. It's about a struggling writing instructor who experiences more shit in one day than most people experience in a month!

While not an intense page-turner, it's the type of book that nestles back inside your brain and pokes you about a bit. You'll find yourself suddenly thinking about Duffy and his disgusting habits or his annoying ability to zone out and daydream when people are talking to him. You'll find yourself wondering how his long day is going to end. If you're like me, you may even create your own endings for the book - all of which will never come close to the actual ending.

The book oozes with middle-class stereotypes, racial profiling, and terroristic fears. Fight For Your Long Day is not going to be for everyone. At times, I was even wondering if it was going to be a good fit for me. But if you stick with it, I am sure you will find it rewarding. For me - it was sleeper. It snuck up on me when I least expected it to. I certainly appreciate it more now, after I've finished and pondered over it, than I did while I was reading it.

I would definitely recommend it to anyone who fights, day in and day out, for what they have. This is a book for anyone working a job they sort of loathe, but desperately need. And it's a book for people who can find hope in the sorriest of places and situations.

Indie Book Buzz: Featherproof Books

Indie Book Buzz is a cool feature here at TNBBC. Over the past couple of weeks, we have been inviting members of the indie publishing houses to share which of their Summer and Fall 2011 releases they are most excited about!

This week's pick comes from Zach, Co-Publisher and Creative Director of Featherproof Books.

Fall 2011

The Karaoke Singer's Guide to Self-Defense by Tim Kinsella

We're very excited to release this book by Chicago musician Tim Kinsella. It's written in this mind-twisting way, very dense prose. I think people will be surprised. It's not what you might expect from Tim, different than his lyrics or past projects. It's got a straight narrative, realistic plot, but this dark pall over everything. Everyone is strange, ambivalent, cruel. Sorta like a noir for the Midwest without any romance, heroism, or adventure. Unsexy noir. Where everyone sings Karaoke. I can't wait until people read this one. (Releases October 2011)

About Zach

Zach Dodson has launched such experiments as Featherproof Books, Bleached Whale Design, and The Show N' Tell Show. He is the author of the hybrid typo/graphic novel, boring boring boring boring boring boring boring. His writing has appeared in Proximity, Monsters & Dust, ACM, and 30 Under 30: An Anthology of Innovative Fiction. He is currently working on a sci-fi/historical southwestern adventure romance about bats.

You can locate him on Twitter and facebook.

The Indie Reader Discovery Awards

As I was perusing the emails that accumulated in my inbox yesterday, I found one that I couldn't help but share with all of you. The tagline initially caught my attention:

"What do you get when you cross a bunch of great self-published books with extraordinary publishing industry professionals? IndieReader’s first annual “Discovery Awards” (IRDAs), where undiscovered talent meets people with the power to make a difference."

I'm no stranger to IndieReader.com. I appreciate their focus on introducing independent (read=Self Published) books to people with independent minds. And this new venture of theirs is something that I secretly wish I could have been involved in. *caging my green eyed monster*

The First Annual IndieReader Discovery Awards are open to all self-published books with a valid ISBN. Judging is based on quality and originality. Submissions opened yesterday and will close Feb 29th, 2012. Winners will be announced June 18th, 2012.

Did that whet your appetite? Here's a bit more:

• There are no restrictions on release dates
• Both eBooks and print books are eligible
• Entry costs $150 per title per category with an extra $50 per additional category
• There are 2 main categories, and 49 sub-categories
• Additional information can be found here
• First, Second, and Third prize winners will be awarded for the each of the two main categories - with the potential for one winner in each of the sub-categories
• You can submit your entry here
• See what you get if you win here

So, self-published friends of TNBBC, what say you? Are you in?

Please help me spread the word about the IRDA's to other self published authors by sharing the link to this post or the Indiereader.com. And good luck!

Book Giveaway: The One That I Want & Time of My Life

TNBBC is excited to present the following giveaway!

To celebrate the paperback release of Allison Winn Scotch's novel The One That I Want,

TNBBC is going to give away three sets of prizes:

Here is the book description as posted on Allison's website:

What if you woke up one day to all your dreams coming true...but those dreams were more like nightmares?

Tilly Farmer is thirty-two years old and has the perfect life she always dreamed of: married to her high school sweetheart, working as a school guidance counselor, trying for a baby. Perfect.

But one sweltering afternoon at the local fair, everything changes. Tilly wanders into a fortune teller's tent and meets an old childhood friend, who offers her more than just a reading. "I'm giving you the gift of clarity," her friend says. "It's what I always thought you needed." And soon enough, Tilly starts seeing things: her alcoholic father relapsing, staggering out of a bar with his car keys in hand; her husband uprooting their happy, stable life, a packed U-Haul in their driveway. And even more disturbing, these visions start coming true. Suddenly Tilly's perfect life, so meticulously mapped out, seems to be crumbling around her. And as she furiously races to keep up with - and hopefully change - her destiny, she faces the question: Which life does she want? The one she's carefully nursed for decades, or the one she never considered possible?

What if you could see into the future? Would you want to know what fate has in store?

2 Grand Prize winners will walk away with:

Signed copies of The One That I Want & her previous novel The Time of My Life.

1 second place winner will win:

a signed copy of The One That I Want.

How do you enter?

1 - Simply comment here explaining "WHO or WHAT is the one that you want".

2 - You must be from the US or Canada to enter. Sorry - no international shipping on this one, guys.

3- Leave a way for us to contact should you be chosen as a winner.

Contest ends July 23rd.

May the best comments win!!!

Alan Tucker On "Being Indie"

On "Being Indie" is a monthly feature that will be hosted here on TNBBC. We will meet a wide variety of independent authors, publishers, and booksellers as they discuss what being indie means to them.

Meet Alan Tucker. He is the author of two sci-fi fantasy YA novels - A Measure of Disorder and its sequel A Cure for Chaos, and the upcoming third book for the series. He's a dad, a graphic designer, and a soccer coach, and writes book that he hopes his kids will enjoy.

He can be found on Twitter and Facebook. He took some time to explain what being Indie means to him and has some tips for indie and self-published authors. Take a look:

Why Indie/Self Pub?

For me, this question boiled down to a simpler one:

Why Write?

Generally, aside from the pleasure of the act itself, there are three reasons people write: to persuade, to inform, and to entertain. All of these reasons require one thing: readers! A persuasive essay is nothing without someone to persuade, and a fantastic adventure story becomes empty with no one for it to entertain.

The publishing industry is in the midst of a Gutenberg-type revolution. Ereaders and print on demand are turning traditional publishing on its head and the model for success as a writer is changing just as quickly. Most of you have probably read or heard about the huge advance Amanda Hocking received recently for a future series of books. A number of other best sellers have come from the ranks of the Indie or self published the past few years as well. The chances, of course, of any single author having that type of success are still extremely small, but not much smaller than making that first big sale through the agent/editor route as was tradition until recently. Many authors are finding readership through the internet, and while most won't be on any best seller lists in the near future, their work is finding an audience — which is the purpose of the work in the first place!

My only advice/plea to someone looking to make the leap into the self publishing world is this: have someone who is not a friend or family read your work before you push your pixels onto the internet for all to see. Secondly, as just as important, listen to what they have to say. Correct your spelling, punctuation and grammar errors because they matter! Let's look professional out there! You may have written the next Lord of the Rings, but if it's riddled with errors, it won't be able to shine.

Write for the joy of it, and take that next step to let the rest of the world share in that joy!