AudioReview of All Things Denis Johnson and Will Patton

Rather than review each of Denis Johnson's audiobooks separately, I thought I'd spare you the multiple obsessive-love-gushes and cram them all into one post. It'll be like ripping off a band-aid, I promise. You ready? Ok, here we go....

I have to start this whole thing off by telling you how absolutely perfect this pairing of author and narrator is. Now, I confess to never having read Denis Johnson in print and I've never really seen Will Patton act, but holy hell, this combination is fucking magical. So magical, in fact, that I want to run up and whore-kiss whoever made the decision to partner them up. Seriously. When I die, my only request is that Denis Johnson write my life story and Will Patton narrate it.

Listened 9/30/12 - 10/2/12
5 Stars - The Next  Best (Audio) Book; I dare you to find a better author/narrator pair.
Audio: 3 cd's (approx 3 hrs)
Publisher: Macmillan Audiobook

I really had no clue who Denis Johnson was or what sort of novels he wrote but I was jonsing for new audiobooks, and saw this lying in the audio bins for $5 at the new Wholesale Distributor that opened up. When I searched the book on Goodreads, I saw tons of positive reviews and thought, what the hell, I'll give it a spin.

When I initially went to review this, I lost my words. All I could think of was "wow". Will Patton's whispery, clench-teethed narration perfectly complimented the drug addled voice of the collection's protagonist and Denis Johnson's sparse and powerful writing. I was glued to my car's speakers to and from work. I felt the words of the interconnected stories pulsing through me.

(Have you seen the indie film? I watched it immediately upon finishing the audiobook [the joys of netflix, instantaneous streaming] and while it was well done, Billy Crudup just couldn't capture the character the way Patton did.)

The story was actually right up my alley. A flawed and fucked up young dude, popping every and any pill he can get his hands on, falling in love with the wrong girls, hanging out with the wrong crowds, running his ass into the ground and dancing around death's door a few too many times before dusting himself off and cleaning himself up, and walking away from it all towards something better.

My favorite scene: When FH and Georgie wake in the cab of the pickup the morning after rescuing the little baby bunnies, only to discover FH has smooshed them in his sleep - Georgie: "Does everything you touch turn to shit? Does this happen to you every time?" FH: [weeping] No wonder everybody calls me "Fuck-Head." Georgie: It's a name that's going to stick. FH: I realize that. Georgie: "Fuck-Head" is gonna ride you to your grave. FH: I already said so, I agreed with you in advance. 

Needless to say, once the audiobook was over, I was jonsing twice as hard for another, and not just any audio would do. Oh no! It HAD to be Denis Johnson and Will Patton, and I was hoping to hell that the Wholesale Distributor had some in stock.

Listened 10/12/12 - 10/13/12
5 Stars - The Next Best (Audio) Book
Audio: 2 cd's (approx 2.5 hrs)
Publisher: Macmillan Audiobook

Back at the store, I found the Train Dreams audiobook, which won Denis Johnson The 2011 National Book Award. When it was initially announced, I had no interest in reading it at all. Turn of the century American West novels typically don't do a damn thing for me. But having experienced the magic of Denis Johnson's writing and Will Patton's narration, I wasted no time at all and plucked the little guy up and out of the audio bin, rushing to the counter so I could pay and pop it into the cd player of my car post-haste.

It's all railroad workers and fires that take out entire towns and making money any which way you can. Grainier, our main man, follows work where it takes him and suffers some of the most amazing and awful situations. It's an epic novella, in the sense that we follow Grainier through the many decades of his life, though it is one of the shortest audiobooks I have ever listened to. From the memories he's lost of his family growing up, to the curse laid upon him by the chinaman he tried to kill, and the deaths of his wife and baby girl, we watch Grainier fall apart and pull it back together in this incredible tale of identity and individual perseverance.

Will Patton nails it once again, with pitch perfect pacing, filling each sentence with raw and ragged emotion. Denis Johnson manages to say more with less and leaves you with a story that haunts you long after its over.

And back to the store I head again...

Listened 11/1/12 - 11/5/12
4 Stars - Strongly Recommended to audio fans; fuck genre and go get it
Audio: 4 cd's (approx 4.5 hrs)
Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Nobody Move is another one of those tricky books. Had I not already fallen head over heels for Denis Johnson and Will Patton, I wouldn't have touched this book with a ten foot pole. Set again in the American West, Johnson goes crime novel on us and tosses us into the middle of a  $2.3 million dollar cat and mouse chase where everyone is fucking everyone else over and no one sees it coming until it's too god damned late.

BUT, I was already head over heels for this twosome so the plot meant nothing to me. I NEEDED to experience Johnson and Patton again and no one was going to get in between me and this audiobook. And it turned out to be quite the pants-pisser, actually. These two guys, being the perfect team that they are, could probably read the phone book and I'd be all into it...

So here we've got this pulpy thriller with a dumb-luck leading man who manages to scrape clean out of some of the most ridiculously dangerous set-ups: Jimmy Luntz has stupidity and the worst kind of luck on his side. That last minute I-think-my-luck's-just-run-out kinda luck. He gets in with the wrong crowd, ball-eating local mafia wanna-be types, and falls in love with the wrong sorta girl, so not only does he have to work hard at keeping HIS own tail clean, but now he's also kind of inherited his girlfriend's mess as well. With big money comes big stakes and Denis Johnson just keeps raising 'em till we're left wondering how much more our not-so-heroic hero can take.

There's still one more audiobook out there, Tree of Smoke, and I'll be popping in and out of that store till they get it in stock, stalking the store like a drug fiend, and scaring off all the little kiddies and old fogies....



So what, dear reader, do I want you to take away from all of this? I want you to listen to a girl who never really goes ga-ga for audiobooks, and I want you to jot down the names of each of these books, and I want you to listen to them all, and I want  you to thank me for leading you to the holy grail of audio.

(Your welcome.)

Where Writers Write: Carol Guess

Welcome to another installment of TNBBC's Where Writers Write!

Where Writers Write is a weekly series that will feature a different author every Wednesday as they showcase their writing spaces using short form essay, photos, and/or video. As a lover of books and all of the hard work that goes into creating them, I thought it would be fun to see where some of TNBBC's favorite authors roll up their sleeves and make the magic happen. 

This is Carol Guess. She is the author of eleven books of poetry and prose, including Switch, Tinderbox Lawn, and Doll Studies: Forensics. She is Professor of English at Western Washington University, where she teaches Creative Writing and Queer Studies: Follow her here: www.carolguess.blogspot.com

Where Carol Guess Writes

Dear Charming Reader,

I write in my head, unmapped terrain. It's excellent company to have this voice constantly narrating real and imaginary worlds: my own personal radio. So there's the radio inside my head, sometimes loud and sometimes turned down or turned off. Then the words, which end up on sticky notes or scraps of paper. Eventually I sit still long enough to tap things onto the computer. Then I need quiet and alone-ness to move the words around for weeks or months.

My best writing happens when I'm moving. Walking is great for turning the radio up real loud, so walking down the street is one place I write. Also, animals are excellent for talking to, because they don't care what the radio is playing. It's all noise to them. So sometimes I write alone in a room with an animal, or two, or three. I like to lie down, and because I'm always cold there's a heater, and coffee, and a white noise machine. A hot little coma of the room where I go.

Impediments to writing include: being cold; NOISE (noise, I hate you); people & their parties; insecurity; time sucks (stupid things we all waste time doing, like watching porn or cute animal videos); chores; RAN OUT OF COFFEE; publicizing books instead of writing them; worrying.

Likely scenarios for writing include: quiet; falling in love; great sex; no internet access; movement; reading beautiful poems out loud; collaborating with someone far away; warm blankets and fuzzy socks; dense bread and salt; coffee; rain; the color blue.

When I'm not writing I feel depressed, so detaching writing from a specific location has become very important. In fact I don't like thinking of writing as writing, and I don't believe really in the hype about rules, about how and who, about advice, about try this or that. I think some people have very loud radios, and I'm one of them, and if we don't record the songs in our heads, we go crazy. If you don't walk a dog, it chews up your shoes; it barks like a mad thing; it jumps all over the furniture. I mean the radio is a dog, too, this feral thing we try to tame.

Fondly Yours,

c

Check back next week to see where Nan Cuba writes.

The Audio Series: Pat Pujolas

Our audio series "The Authors Read. We Listen." is an incredibly special one for us. Hatched in a NYC club during BEA week, this feature requires more work of the author than any of the ones that have come before. And that makes it all the more sweeter when you see, or rather, hear them read excerpts from their own novels, in their own voices, the way their stories were meant to be heard.   


Today, Pat Pujolas is reading an excerpt from his novel Jimmy Lagowski Saves the World.  The book was published by Independent Talent Group in March. Nominated for a XXXVI Pushcart Prize, Pujolas has also been published in Outsider Writers, Connotation Press, Jumping Blue Gods, and ManArchy magazine. He's credited with two episodes of MTV's animated series "3-South."

Click here to experience an excerpt of Jimmy Lagowski Saves the World read by author Pat Pujolas. 



The word on Jimmy Lagowski Saves the World:

“Two days before he was scheduled for jury duty and/or to commit suicide, Jimmy Lagowski received a postcard in the mail...” and so begins the title story in this masterful collection of interwoven narratives. Here: a badly-burned, depressed, and possibly alien 20-year-old is the lone vote of dissension in a controversial murder trial; a promising college sophomore ponders the implications of taking the morning-after pill; a retired maintenance man confronts his violent past in the checkout line of a discount supermarket; and a brilliant geologist struggles to recount the accidental death of an innocent child. Separately, these stories tell the tales of broken lives in 2012 Midwest America. Together, they tell a fearless and cohesive story of human tragedy, revenge, and forgiveness.
*lifted from goodreads with love

Dreaming Books Blog Tour

Welcome to Day Three of Book Sexy Review's 

The Dreaming Books Blog Tour

Here at TNBBC, we have a phobia about reading books out of order. So even though this is a book tour celebrating The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books, we've decided to start at the beginning and review it's predecessor The City of Dreaming Books. While it's the first of the Dreaming Books series, it's actually the fourth in Walter Moer's Zamonia series... I know, I know, I'm still sort of confused about the whole thing too!

Before I get too far into things I wanted to fess up straight away. I am not a fan of bookish literature. While I love books and often wake in the middle of the night in a cold sweat when I dream about life without them, I cannot stand reading books about books. I am not really sure why... maybe it has something to do with the fact that while I am reading, I do not want to read about someone else getting lost in a book? But that's just a wild guess. I've never been able to put my finger on it. As I am sure you can surmise from the title of the Dreaming Books series, well... they're obvious about books. An entire bookish city, in fact, complete with hidden libraries and odd, sometimes nightmarishly bookish creatures. And while I struggled to fall head over heels in love with Moer and Bookholm, I have come to realize that I am in the minority... who knew Moer had such insanely rabid fans!

Set in a world and time that doesn't really exist, the book is narrated by Optimus Yarnspinner, a clumsy, sheltered dinosaur who decides to leave the comfort of Lindworm Castle to track down the author of what he and his recently deceased Authorial Godfather deem to be the most incredible manuscript ever written.   (yes, in this world of Zamonia, books are highly revered and its inhabitants are raised by 'fairy author godfathers', if you will, who teach them to read and write and obsess over literature). I only mention the fact that Optimus is clumsy because he often makes reference to his size and less-than-elegant manner thoughout the book. In that way, quite early on, he began to remind me of Earl from that tragedy of a sitcom  in the early 90's Dinosaurs [please don't throw books at me!]. A dinosaur with too-large feet and a too-long tail that always seemed to get in his way. I had such a hard time bottling up the urge to shout "Not the Mama".

Even more than making fun of himself, Optimus seems to like to hear himself talk, and I often found myself losing patience with his side-stories... perhaps this is where his family inherited its last name? Easily distracting himself from the tale he sets out to tell us, our friendly narrator veers off topic throughout the entire novel, sharing incredibly long and detailed accounts of some of the most mundane things .. I admit to skimming through paragraph after paragraph of these one-sided philosophical ramblings. They appeared to add nothing of value to the storyline... only frustratingly adding to the overall page count. Oh dear, I fear I am doing that which I am complaining of right now. It's catching...!

Anyway, as I said, Optimus heads out to Bookholm (a book lovers wet-dream of a city where the streets are lined with bookstores of every type of literature imaginable) in the hopes of discovering this mysterious author and naively shares the manuscript with the wrong crowd. In no time, he gets himself poisoned -a victim of his own innocence and prey to a nefarious tyrant- and banished below the city in the underground catacombs. And here is where the story really starts....

In a dark and dangerous world where some books are hazardous to your health and others come to life to crawl around like bugs and snakes; where giant slug-like scientists terrorize the halls and cyclopic gnomes memorize entire libraries of their favorite authors; where all fear The Shadow King;  and where Book Hunters of all makes and models seek out the most valuable and demanded books in the world - and aren't afraid to kill you or one another in order  to wrap their furry or scaly fingers around them - I found myself worrying about Walter Moer's sanity. If you took ALL THE DRUGS IN THE WORLD, you still might not find yourself tripping as hard as he must have been when writing these stories.

The book comes complete with black and white drawings, included below, which lend the book a fairy tale feel, although it was obviously written with an adult audience in mind. There are famous author name anagrams sprinkled throughout (I suck at those things and only managed to decode ONE of them!), painfully cheesy made-up book titles, and mentions of spiders or spider-like creatures at almost every page turn...

So while I wasn't blown away by Bookholm and it's unorthodox inhabitants, I am glad that I chose to start at the beginning of the series. And while many of the people who've noticed that I was reading the book exclaimed how desperately they wished they lived in Bookholm, I've accepted the fact that fictional bookish worlds, those steeped heavily in fantasy elements or not, just aren't my cuppa tea. Even though it is obvious that Moer went to great lengths to build and develop this world of mystical, magical, and sinister creatures, I simply was not able to suspend my sense of belief far enough or long enough to lose myself in the ways in which Moer has intended.

And while I wish I had enjoyed the book more, I do thank Tara of Book Sexy Review for inviting me to be a part of the blog tour and for not shooting me through the chest with a poisoned arrow when I confessed that Walter Moer just isn't the man for me.

If you're tempted to learn more about Moer, the world of Zamonia, the city of Bookholm, and its underground labyrinth, please check out Day Four - Tara's leg of the tour - tomorrow....

Ryan W Bradley's Guide to Books & Booze

Time to grab a book and get tipsy!

Books & Booze is a new mini-series of sorts here on TNBBC that will post every Friday in October. The participating authors were challenged to make up their own drinks, name and all, or create a drink list for their characters and/or readers using drinks that already exist. 

HOW TO DRINK WITH RYAN W. BRADLEY

So, you want to drink like a writer? Maybe like a fictional character? Sometimes the two aren’t so different from one another. I’ve certainly got more than my fair share of crazy booze related stories. There have been times I should have died, but I survived, and the reason I did was so that I could share my boozy wisdom with others. Personally, I have a lot of favorite drinks. Pretty much all hard alcohol, though I won’t drink tequila anymore because bad things happen when I do. Like wake up in a gutter bad. I also love wine and champagne, but *gasp* I don’t like beer. Except maybe Guinness, and even then I’m going to want it as part of an Irish Car Bomb.

Let’s say you’re sitting down to read something I wrote. OH MY GOSH, I’m so flattered! Seriously! Oh, and you want a drink to go with it? Consider me your sommelier. Here’s some suggested pairings for all my books and chapbooks.

AQUARIUM (Thunderclap! Press)

My first chapbook of poetry is split between confessional and more humorous/surreal pieces. There’s a dichotomy to it. For this one you want to be drinking something that is not just one thing. This is RWB Poetry 101. Break out the Rum and Coke. For bonus points my favorite rum is Captain Morgan’s Tattoo (which is delicious by itself, too).

PRIZE WINNERS (Artistically Declined Press)

My first collection of short stories is a torrent of intimate moments. Every story is about sex and how sex dictates interpersonal relationships. If there were ever a get drunk and f**k the next person you see book this is probably it. Don’t expect things to work out, but sometimes you need experiences in life, so you deal with the fallout later. So, just this once, go ahead and break out some Tequila shots.

MILE ZERO (Maverick Duck Press)

My second chapbook of poetry is poems about Alaska, from my childhood to working in the Arctic Circle. Alaskans like their booze. Construction in the Arctic is a cold, burly, unforgettable experience. It’s also simple and blunt. Grab a bottle of Jack Daniels and start chugging.

CODE FOR FAILURE (Black Coffee Press)

My debut novel is a torrid ride of debauchery, much of it booze induced, and based on my time as a gas station attendant. There is a ton of liquor consumed and always something different. You’re gonna blackout and you’re gonna wake up next to a stranger. If you’re prone to hangovers make sure you’ve got aspirin in your pocket. Now start lining up the Irish Car Bombs. That’s a pint glass of Guinness with a shot of half-Irish Cream, half-Irish Whiskey dropped into the glass and then chugged. Now repeat.

YOU ARE JAGUAR (Artistically Declined Press)

For a collaborative poetry collection you’ve got to wonder where this can go. The poems are steeped in surrealism and searches for answers. The world is an illusion. Find yourself a bottle of Absinthe and look out for the jungle cats.

CRUSHING ON A GHOST (Maverick Duck Press)

My third poetry chapbook comes out in December and is full of love poems directed at fictional spectres. If there is a way to make love to ghosts I’m convinced they’ve got a taste for the bubbly. Put the champagne on ice and curl up in bed while you wait for the ghosts to rise from the pages.

THE WAITING TIDE (Concepción Books)

My first full-length poetry collection is due in February and is an homage to Pablo Neruda’s famous collection of love poems, The Captain’s Verses. If you don’t think poetry can be sexy you haven’t been reading any good poetry. This book brings the sexy. It brings the ocean, the waves, and the moonlight. Get ready to sip some Mai Tai’s and make love in the sand.

Author Ryan W. Bradley jokingly calls himself a "blue collar renaissance man". He's pumped gas, changed oil, worked in a mechanic's shop, painted houses, done construction in the Arctic Circle, and has worked as a shipping and receiving coordinator for a university bookstore. Oh yeah, and he runs the very impressive, very indie Artistically Declined Press, which was featured here on Indie Spotlight.

Book Giveaway: Shout Her Lovely Name

Since July 2010, TNBBC has been bringing authors and readers together every month to get behind the book! This unique experience wouldn't be possible without the generous donations of the authors and publishers involved.   

I'm excited to be partnering with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 

to bring you next month's Author/Reader Discussion Book!

We will be reading and discussing

Shout Her Lovely Name with Natalie Serber

In order to stimulate discussion, 

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has agreed to giveaway 10 copies 

to residents of US and Canada.

Here is the Goodreads description:

 

Mothers and daughters ride the familial tide of joy, regret, loathing, and love in these stories of resilient and flawed women. In a battle between a teenage daughter and her mother, wheat bread and plain yogurt become weapons. An aimless college student, married to her much older professor, sneaks cigarettes while caring for their newborn son. On the eve of her husband’s fiftieth birthday, a pilfered fifth of rum, an unexpected tattoo, and rogue teenagers leave a woman questioning her place. And in a suite of stories, we follow capricious, ambitious single mother Ruby and her cautious, steadfast daughter Nora through their tumultuous life—stray men, stray cats, and psychedelic drugs—in 1970s California.

Gimlet-eyed and emotionally generous, achingly real and beautifully written, these unforgettable stories lay bare the connection and conflict in families. Shout Her Lovely Name heralds the arrival of a powerful new writer.

This giveaway will run through November 9th. 

Winners will be announced here and via email on November 10th.

Here's how to enter:

1 - Leave a comment stating why you would like to win a copy.

2 - State that you agree to participate in the group read book discussion that will run from December 8th through December 22nd . Natalie Serber has agreed to participate in the discussion and will be available to answer any questions you may have for her. 

 *If you are 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 before the discussion begins). 

 3 - Your comment must have a way to contact you (email is preferred). 

Good luck!!!

Where Writers Write: Dinty W Moore

Welcome to another installment of TNBBC's Where Writers Write!

Where Writers Write is a weekly series that will feature a different author every Wednesday as they showcase their writing spaces using short form essay, photos, and/or video. As a lover of books and all of the hard work that goes into creating them, I thought it would be fun to see where some of TNBBC's favorite authors roll up their sleeves and make the magic happen. 

This is Dinty W. Moore. He is the author of The Mindful Writer: Noble Truths of the Writing Life, as well as the memoir Between Panic & Desire, winner of the Grub Street Nonfiction Book Prize in 2009. He also edited The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Nonfiction: Advice and Essential Exercises from Respected Writers, Editors, and Teachers. Moore has published essays and stories in The Southern Review, The Georgia Review, Harpers, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, The Philadelphia Inquirer Magazine, Iron Horse Literary Review, and Crazyhorse, among numerous other venues. 

A professor of nonfiction writing at Ohio University, Moore has won many awards for his writing, including a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Fiction. He edits Brevity, an online journal of flash nonfiction, and lives in Athens, Ohio, where he grows heirloom tomatoes and edible dandelions.

Today, he shares his reasoning for keeping a grungy writing room:

Where Dinty W Moore Writes

Call it superstition: I have moved five times in the last twenty so years and always make sure that my writing room is the least attractive space in the house. Once moved in to our new home, we paint the bedrooms, spruce up the living room, dining room, and kitchen, and sometimes, when we can afford it, upgrade the bathroom fixtures, but the writing space stays more or less as it is found. Shoddy, rough around the edges.

Even my computer is old, running an outdated version of Windows and very few other programs. Fewer distractions that way. The computer is not, thank goodness, connected to the Internet.

Why such adherence to roughness? I’m not sure, but I do know that about fifteen years ago a friend of mine had some wonderful with his second novel, and pocketed a hefty royalty check or two. He took that money and built himself the writing studio of his dreams: a massive space above a three-car garage, with natural wood floors and high beamed ceilings, an antique desk, two fireplaces, a reading nook with comfortable furniture, a full bathroom, and best of all, a picture window overlooking a long, green valley of trees and hawks and clouds.

Best I can tell, he has never written another thing since moving into that aerie of a space.

There was just too much to do in that room, other than write, and too much pressure, maybe, to live up to the grandeur.

So give me the grunge. Give me a pock-marked, garage sale desk, discarded sheets as curtains, and unpainted walls. I did upgrade my chair recently – my aging back demands it – but I’m resistant to spend another cent.

Superstition? Yes. Actually an important writing requirement? Probably not. But I believe in it, and thus it works for me.

Check back next week to see where Carol Guess writes.

Caleb J Ross's Guide to Books & Booze

Time to grab a book and get tipsy!

Books & Booze is a new mini-series of sorts here on TNBBC that will post every Friday in October. The participating authors were challenged to make up their own drinks, name and all, or create a drink list for their characters and/or readers using drinks that already exist. 

Kevin Drinking Playlist

Considering most of I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin is, as author Joey Goebel says, “an American road novel from hell,”—keyword being “road”—associating alcohol with the novel might potentially be irresponsible. Then again, should you be reading the book while driving, even without imbibing the booze listed below, you’d be irresponsible. Therefore, all blame, no matter how you decide to take this blog post, reverts to you. Read Responsibly.

These drinks, did I drink them? Do the characters in the novels drink them? Some yes to both, some no. They are meant as a way to evoke the feeling of the novel, of the reader’s expected experience, more than literal reflections of the text and my time with it.

Coke and Jäger (and a drop of grenadine if you’re feeling syrupy)

• ·         1 part Cola
• ·         2 parts Jägermeister
• ·         Ice
• ·         Dash of grenadine

Early in the novel the main character, Jackson Jacoby, visits a bar called Town Royale (the bar itself inspired by a bar of the same name in Emporia, Kansas where I attended college; the bar was known as the English Major drinking hole, probably because it wasn’t as cool as the other bars, resided at the edge of town, and catered to those less interested in aesthetics [the tables were little more than glorified picnic tables], and more interested in conversation). The novel Town Royale resides along a non-descript highway and serves as the impetus to Jackson’s cross-country journey. Jackson orders a Coke and Jäger, casually, implying that he may be a regular at this bar.

I started ordering this drink in college, though I don’t recall Town Royale being the birthplace. I wasn’t much for beer at the time (oh to be young and stupid) but knew enough not to take in neat liquor every night. The Coke and Jäger was born of a need to be social without feigning a taste for beer.

Whisky in a flask

• ·         1 part Whisky
• ·         Remaining parts flask

There’s something about a flask that simultaneously connotes elegance and poverty, addiction and choice. Though I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin doesn’t contain a flask at all, the romance one might associate with a flask is imbued throughout. Jackson travels the country, telling lies, claiming to be someone special, when the truth is he’s probably not special at all. When I see a flask in the wild, I can’t help but feel that the drinker is utilizing such an unnecessary, cumbersome item (seriously, why not a plastic flask bottle off the shelf) in order to appear interesting. That’s Jackson, a man in need of awe and validation.

Drinks from the Name Dropping Checklist

One of my favorite aspects of I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin is the inclusion of literary references throughout, which I use to validate myself as an author (“I’ve read lots of books, see”) the way Jackson tries to validate himself to strangers (for those of you curious about the references, check out my 4 part video Easter Eggs series in which I reveal all 13 Easter Eggs in the novel). With this in mind, these final drinks are an amalgamation of drinks that feel at home in the worlds depicted in the referenced books and stories.

• ·         The Great Gatsby – Prohibition reigns in the world of Nick Gatsby. This makes an alcohol reference difficult. However, by means of the name alone, I think an Old Fashioned would be a good drink to fit the Gatsby portions of I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin.

• ·         “The Blue Bouquet” – Octavio Paz’s amazing short story opens with a dreamlike awakening, something I would liken to the romance associated with Absinthe. Though the hallucinogenic properties of Absinthe are grossly overstated (re: non-existent), the drink still carries enough weight in the world of the surreal to have a sense of place among I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin.

• ·         Kiss Me, Judas – Will Christopher Baer’s Phineas Poe trilogy, which starts with Kiss Me, Judas, contains references to a drink simply called The Pale. The text doesn’t offer much in the way of what exactly The Pale is, so I’ll pull from the name and offer Pale Ale as a suitable drinktrack for the Kiss Me, Judas-y parts of I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin. Many breweries have Pale Ales, so choose your favorite, and relax into I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin.

Caleb J. Ross has been published widely, both online and in print. He is the author of Charactered Pieces: stories, Stranger Will: a novel, I Didn’t Mean to Be Kevin: a novel, Murmurs: Gathered Stories Vol. One, and As a Machine and Parts. Visit his official page, his Twitter feed, his Facebook and his Google+.

Indie Spotlight: Sundog Lit

One of the things I love most about the interwebs, and obsessive social media sites like Twitter, is the lightening speed rate at which you are bombarded by new things. Some of it turns out to be trash, or outside the scope of your interest, true... but if you're following the right kinda crowd, a lot of what comes at you is right up your alley and you sudden fall down the rabbit hole of awesome-new-things-I-must-immediately-become-acquainted-with. 

In my case, running in bookish circles as I do, my rabbit hole is small press publishing. And this week, The Insatiable Booksluts all but shoved me down one with their links to the stories published by new-to-me Sundog Lit.com. Not only are they snagging some awesome literature from even awesomer writers, they love running features and series nearly as much as I do! But rather than listening to me go on and on about why these guys should be placed on your must-watch-closely and expect-great-things lists... I thought I'd let Managing Editor Justin Lawrence Daugherty do it for me. So, without further ado... Sundog Lit:

This is an introduction, of sorts, a hello, a how-do-you-do, a pleased-to-meet-ya. This is a howdy to the world.

Hello back at ya, you say. Who are you, though?

This is Sundog Lit, an online lit mag of incendiary, earth-scorching literature. I wrote about the early days, the all-or-nothing days (mind you, only 2.5 months ago, that was), the days of sweat and calloused fingers, for the Passages North blog. I wrote about how this beast first breathed life from its lungs, about how this began at AWP in Chicagothis year and how it eventually came to where we are, really, now.

But, there's an untold story. I think part of the story is my own tale to tell. About how I returned to Omaha, Nebraska, the town I spent the first 27 years of my life, the town I left with a fiance, and came back to without that fiance, and with a sense of loss – not of her, but of having left Marquette, Michigan, Lake Superior, friends, Northern Michigan University, a girlfriend (whom is also no longer in the picture). I had left behind what had very much defined me for the last few years, an MFA program where I grew – I like to think – exponentially. In Omaha, I felt a need to connect, to be a part of something.

Sundog Lit came about in part out of that, but also out of the desire to see a venue for literature that really is active, incendiary, full of broken bones and blood and fury and all that. A venue for new, emerging, passionate voices. We wanted literature that really connects with the reader, makes them feel something, makes them unable to forget what they've read. Literature that breaks into your skin, gets deep in your bones like a chill in winter.

At first, we were unsure what we would get, what this mag would really look like, if we'd get any submissions, whether there'd be a first issue. There are so many magazines out there that you have to stand out, have to really try and shake foundations. We launched the site and soon had a few series – Photogene, an art-and-writing prompt contest (free!) that we run on the site, This State of Literature, a series of guest articles written by publishers and writers and lit mag runners on the state of literature in our world, and Friday Rex, our Friday recommendation series showcasing excellent literature from around the online literary world.

I spent a ridiculous amount of time on Twitter, on Facebook, out there promoting every single thing we created. Sometimes it felt like too much, but we generated interest, buzz, electricity, I think. People seemed excited for the first issue. There were hiccups, of course, but in October we finally released Issue One, something I'm so proud of, and featured so many amazing writers, people who I am really excited to have been able to feature and publish.

 Since then, we've partnered with Robert Kloss to offer Texts Inspired by Robert Kloss' The Alligators of Abraham, a series of texts from established writers responding, in some way, to Kloss' excellent novel. That series runs throughout November, 2012, in the run-up and aftermath of the release of the book. We're working on partnering with a couple other writers to do exciting, new things in conjunction with their book releases early next year.

We launched a blog, where we'll publish interviews and reviews, new series and feature articles and guest posts. We are preparing theme issues and contests. We're spreading and building quickly. There's something to be said for the slow build, but I've never been great with patience.

We will be at AWP in Boston. Come see us!

What my big dream is, though, is to launch a press, to publish books that push boundaries and incite readers, books that make readers really mull over what they've read, books that make them want more, more, more. I hope to work on that early next year. So, stay tuned.

The reaction to what we've done so far has been truly inspiring. People seem to love what we're doing and what we're putting out. The writing we've been blessed with publishing has been great. That's the most important thing. The writing. That's the reason any of us do this at all, the reason this mag exists. It's all about the writing. 

BIO: Winner of the 2012 Gigantic Sequins Flash Fiction Contest prize, Justin Lawrence Daugherty manages Sundog Lit from Omaha, Nebraska. His work has appeared in or is forthcoming from The Normal School, Barrelhouse, Monkeybicycle, NAP Magazine, HOUSEFIRE, Whiskey Paper, Midwestern Gothic, Bluestem, A-Minor, Recess Magazine, Heavy Feather Review, and elsewhere. He is an Assistant Fiction Editor for Bartleby Snopes and the Music Editor at Used Furniture Review and is at work on putting together a podcast with a few other fine folks, to be announced soon. He is at work on a novella, a novel, and several other projects. 

Where Writers Write: Lydia Millet

Welcome to another installment of TNBBC's Where Writers Write!

Where Writers Write is a weekly series that will feature a different author every Wednesday as they showcase their writing spaces using short form essay, photos, and/or video. As a lover of books and all of the hard work that goes into creating them, I thought it would be fun to see where some of TNBBC's favorite authors roll up their sleeves and make the magic happen. 

This is Lydia Millet. She's the author of The Shimmers in the Night, a brand-new novel for middle readers that is the second in the Dissenters series that began last year with The Fires Beneath the Sea. She’s also written fiction for adult readers, including the short-story collection Love in Infant Monkeys, a Pulitzer Prize finalist.

Today, Lydia shows us where she finds her inspiration to write:

Where Lydia Millet Writes

I drive 35 minutes across a mountain range to take my two young children to school in the morning, and I stay in the city till school ends, since I don’t want to traverse the mountain pass four times a day and I like to stay close to the kids. I edit press releases for six hours daily and intersperse that with writing my books, whenever I have half an hour free; it’s a hybrid life. I like to write in public, with a low hum of noise but nothing too intrusive, so I float from venue to venue seeking subdued company and avoiding crowds.

Coffee. First there’s a bagel emporium. I’d prefer a local, hipster coffee shop to a franchise, but this is a chain-store part of town. Most of the regulars are retired, plus there’s a huge group of mentally challenged adults from an assisted living facility. Finally, most every day there’s a table of gun-wielding cops from the corner sheriff’s station, and sometimes a fireman from across the street. Emergency services abound. Advantage: Manager attractive; on bathroom runs, laptop completely safe from crime. Disadvantage: When retirees, cops and challenged enter at once, horrible din.

Food. Then there’s a diner across the sun-baked parking lot where I can get a salad, if I have time for lunch, and work as I eat. Here again I’d prefer a more idiosyncratic décor, but beggars can’t be, etc. My weekday life is a mini-mall. This place has sports on TV, but not too loud. Advantage: Booths, ranch dressing. Disadvantage: Insides freeze from giant cups of ice water + Arctic A/C. Waitress won’t hold the ice. Violent shivering.

“Fitness.”Next I work in a small lounge that’s actually part of the women’s change room at my gym, a character-void national chain where TVs surround me once again, tuned to things like FOX, and pop music plays incessantly, most of it repugnant. When I’m not typing I emerge from the change room, much like an ogre clumping out of its cave, to drape myself slowly and sadly over an exercise machine. The lounge is a conversational danger zone; one personal trainer comes in with a headset and talks loudly to a boyfriend in prison. Another health enthusiast, seemingly insane, has a beauty routine that lasts two full hours. Advantage: Puffy armchair; fitness potential, chiefly latent. Disadvantage: Half-naked, hard-bodied individuals saying bad things; many have pink acrylic talons.

The Library.Finally it’s over to the public library to finish out the workday. Here the lights are far too bright, like every other place I work, and there are a number of homeless patrons, mumbling/smelling. If I were homeless, I’d be here too. Advantage: I love libraries and librarians categorically. Disadvantage: Rage at cell-phone talkers. Festering.

Check back next week to see where Dinty Moore encourages his writing mojo.

Where Writers Write: Barbara Richardson

Welcome to another installment of TNBBC's Where Writers Write!

Where Writers Write is a weekly series that will feature a different author every Wednesday as they showcase their writing spaces using short form essay, photos, and/or video. As a lover of books and all of the hard work that goes into creating them, I thought it would be fun to see where some of TNBBC's favorite authors roll up their sleeves and make the magic happen. 

This is Barbara K. Richardson, author of Tributary, which released back in September.

She believes in the interconnectedness of all things. How else can you explain Mitt Romney running for president and The Book of Mormon musical storming Broadway just as her Utah historical novel comes to print? 

Barbara lives in Colorado with her sweetheart of 34 years. She designs landscapes and edits manuscripts for a living. And now, she shows us where she writes:

Where Barbara K. Richardson Writes

The real writing nearly always takes place in bed. Just as my mind relinquishes the cares of the day and swims out into restful waters, bam. Insight comes. I keep my Mighty Bright clipped to a notepad, with pen, on the window sill. I write into the darkness. With my latest novel, Tributary, I stayed up six hours a night taking notes for three weeks. I am a bloodshot-eyed novelist.

Later, when I type up the manuscript, every word is supported by the OED!

Check back tomorrow when , back on our regular schedule, we discover where Lydia Millet writes.