Indie Spotlight: Gabriel Böhmer's Beetle Days

If there is one thing I love to do, it's promote the pants off of awesome small press and self published literature. Especially when the said awesome literature is in need of a big kick to get itself out there. 

Today, I'm letting Gabriel Böhmer take the reins and talk about our evolution from imaginative apes to creative humans to dung beetles. What, you say? Read on, it'll all make sense, I promise.....

He's got a story I think you're going to want to hear.....

*****

You, my friend, are a beautifully creative monkey. And I love you for that. Alright, monkey is not quite accurate. Ape or primate is technically correct. It doesn’t have the same ring though, does it? But anyways, this is how I figured this out. How I’ve explained to myself drawing sounds on paper, or typing them into computationally able light-boxes. See, we’re all capable of being amazing imaginative creatures. We just need to figure out how, and in what.

Let us consider my amateur anthropological summary of ingenuity over time and its role in our development.

Creativity comes in many forms. Yes the musician and the painter and the writer, but also the medical scientist. It’s the most fundamentally human thing: an idea that presents an alternative to a familiar sequence. It’s what advances us. What’s more, creativity informs creativity. New ideas in different disciplines don’t necessarily influence, but they encourage.

I suspect we had music before a fully-fledged language. And they must’ve helped one another. Leading to better tunes, and more sophisticated communication. Which lead to strategic advancements in hunting. And then more meat. And then more time to paint in caves. And so on and so forth.

So the way I see it is this: if you have the opportunity, you’re obligated to maximize creativity. And this brings me to writing and making things. I could be wonderfully mediocre at a few professions. But I’m just a bit better at stories and pictures. I’m not saying I’m any good. That’s not for me to decide. But this is me maximizing my capacity for creativity.

Good writing fascinates me. We’re introduced to a world, and then we draw our own conclusions. The author has a point, but they have to dance around it. If it’s laid out like a hypothesis—if we’re told instead of shown—the most lovingly far-fetched story becomes an essay. This balancing act is mesmerizing. Especially when the surface story is satisfying in and of itself. I love consuming, and making, and dissecting, these puzzles. Writing down line-by-line what Borges or Hemingway did is a good time. And seemingly simple stories always turn out to be beautifully, methodically, and painstakingly constructed.

There’s just something about a primate mimicking the complexity and casual randomness of nature that is very special.

Not counting short stories, I’ve written a book or play every 18 months for the past 10 years. Sometimes these things would turn into films. But they all ended up the same way: in a dark closet. And I was happy with that. But I’m not anymore. What good is maximizing creativity if you don’t give it the chance to inform creativity? I’ll tell you, it’s not worth a damn.

We arrive at present, and my book Beetle Days. It’s not out yet, but it’s on the way to being self-published. Hopefully, with the help of some backers through Kickstarter, which ends February 15^th. I decided it was time, because Beetle Days is mine. An effort that is distinctly my voice. And it’s mine in a particular moment in time. I’ll never think, or feel, exactly the way I did when I wrote it again. Beetle Days is a satire about the greed and herd mentality one so often sees today. Told as a fable of talking sheep, people, and dissatisfied beetles. Beetles that steal things whilst mouthing off.

So, I’ve qualified how I came to writing, why I want to publish this thing, and a little about the idea. But where the hell did it come from?

Well, I’d been calling people dung beetles for a while. I don’t remember why exactly. But I suppose there’s a rudimentary appeal in comparing individuals to something that spins crap for a living. In truth, this is completely unfair. Dung beetles are very useful and kind ecosystem contributors! They recycle nutrients in soil, and make it more hygienic. But regardless of this, as time went on I was calling more and more things dung beetles. Individuals, places, objects, and concepts.

But, one morning in a French café in Zurich it happened. I was so sleep deprived that everything became a little fuzzy. I intended to write about an unpleasant neighbor. But, for some reason I only wrote about beetles. I completely left the ‘person’ bit out. And I’ve never stopped since. It quickly became about much more than an irritation. Written, near-compulsively in 30 days, it fed on thoughts concerning the supply chain of food production, economic manipulation, and contrarian psychology.

Beetle Days is my capacity for creativity. I hope you maximize yours. And I look forward to your ingenuity informing mine. You beautiful monkey, you.

***

Writer Gabriel Böhmer was born in Zurich, and has lived in London, Buenos Aires, and Boston. He used to work in the consulting industry but left in 2011 in pursuit of his own work (a production company in its start-up phase) making things and writing. He enjoys long distance running, building fires (to cook things), and banging on random objects to see what sound they'll make.

Beetle Days is currently a Kickstarterproject. The campaign ends Feb 15^th. Official Site. Twitter. 

Where Writers Write: Mark Maynard

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 the authors roll up their sleeves and make the magic happen. 

photo by Tom Seawell

This is Mark Maynard. 

He is the fiction editor for The Meadow literary journal and teaches creative writing in Reno, NV. His collection of short stories Grind was released by Torrey House Press in December 2012.

Where Mark Maynard Writes

I’m fortunate enough to have a writing space at home. This is a place of ritual, inspiration and compartmentalization for me.

Ritual: The small built-in desk houses my computer and just enough flat space on the left (I am left-handed) for whatever notes I need for the task at hand. My work begins with me placing on the desk a particular notebook, book, or various scraps of papers related to whatever I will be writing. My reference materials are on the adjacent shelf, next to the vintage Underwood typewriter (see “Inspiration” below). Behind me is a small folding table that holds additional materials or papers to be graded. On the shelf just above me is my coffee mug from TheRumpus.net, and, as soon as I am ready to begin writing, I spin it 180 degrees so that its vulgar, heart-shaped imperative is visible while I’m sitting at the keyboard.

Inspiration: In addition to the ancient typewriter, I’ve strategically stacked my bookshelves to inspire me. Above me are a collection of books by mentors, colleagues and friends – a sort of karmic reminder of the potential results of years of hard work, perseverance and grit. Above that is a shelf of my favorite novels. To the left of that is a shelf of my favorite poets and just below that, immediately to writer’s left, is an alphabetized shelf of my favorite short story collections including T.C. Boyle, Ron Carlson, Raymond Carver, Amy Hempel, Hemingway, Alice Munroe, Tim O’Brien and Tobias Wolff. Interspersed among these are photos of my wife, my two sons, my dog, my parents and many of my friends. These help sustain me in solitary moments where I’d rather leave the desk and go out into the tangible world.

Compartmentalization: This room is my primary workroom. Here I read, write fiction , write non-fiction, conduct research on a documentary film I amworking on, review and edit manuscripts, and prepare for my college courses, including planning and preparing for lectures and grading papers. In order to be able to switch between these things, I have a constant rotation of neatly stacked piles, plastic file boxes, the folding table and several bags (the leather satchel contains school texts and papers, the canvas tote -- research and notes for the film project) that can be moved in a cyclical fashion through the various permutations of “work”.

Check back this time next week to see where Joshua Mohr gets his writing on!

A First Time, Part Time, Small Press Professional

Through an incredibly happy accident, you are now looking at Chicago Center for Literature and Photography's new Marketing Director!

This announcement has me grinning from ear to ear for a few reasons.

For those of you who have been friends of TNBBC since the blog first began, you know how passionate I am about small press literature and how desperately I've wanted to be a part of the independent publishing process. My focus as a blogger and book lover has always been one of connecting readers with authors, and giving those authors and their publishers a platform for their books.

You may also know that one of the first books I ever reviewed here was a CCLaP book - Ben Tanzer's Repetition Patterns. That book caused me to fall hard and fast for CCLaP Publishing (and Ben, let's be honest!). Jason Pettus and his unique book designs, edgy fiction, and pay-you-what-want electronic books kept drawing me back in, year after year... Their books and events have appeared numerous times here on the blog, and now, I am thrilled to play an official role in what they do!

So you're probably wondering how this new position with CCLaP will affect TNBBC, right? 

Well, since I am now working for them, I will no longer review their books. Even though I've positively reviewed them in the past, and have been border-line mushy-gushy about everything they do, it would now be seen as a conflict of interest. I still plan on promoting their titles and blog events, but everything I say and do about them from here on out is absolutely tainted by my professional affiliation with them. So now, every time you see me post about a new CCLaP title or shindig, you will be tortured by the uncertainty of whether I am truly over the moon about it or just doing my obligatory duties. Mwahahahaa!

I am going to love toying with your emotions! 

Sadly, the total number of reviews on the site will start slowing down as well. With most of my free time redirected towards my new job responsibilities, I won't be pleasure-reading as much as I used to. Acceptance of review copies won't come to a screeching halt but I will now be even more picky as far as the titles I choose to review. No worries, though. Those books that I can't devote time to for review will have even more opportunity to appear in one of my never-ending, always-amazing blog series and features!
(Don't roll those eyes, mister!)

Other than that, TNBBC as you know it will remain the same. I love you guys too much to ever let you go. I hope you know that. And I promise to keep bringing the awesome every which way I can.

So what exactly will I be doing as Marketing Director for CCLaP?

Well, Jason is ensuring I am mondo-busy right from the start. As I type this, I am creating a database of independent bookshops across the country - in the hopes that we can get CCLaP's books placed into their hands on consignment. This database is being built from the ground up, since up 'til now, Jason's only ever sold his books on CCLaP's website and at live reading events.

I'll also be searching the web high and low for literary awards to submit our titles to throughout the year, and looking for the support of awesome bloggers like you, and top notch lit magazines, to help spread the word about our books.

I could REALLY use your help here, TNBBCer's! You're a fantabulously bookish bunch and I would love you and hug you and kiss you forever if you could share your favorite indie book stores with me here by leaving a comment - DOUBLE BONUS POINTS if you link me to their website - QUADRUPLE BONUS POINTS if you know that they accept books on consignment.


Oh, and I hope you won't mind much if I post from time to time about my adventures as a first time, part time, small press professional..... and begging for your help from time to time?

*Update: my official welcome at CCLaP!

The Audio Series: John Minichillo

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, John Minichillo reads us his short story The Last Pool Party, which debuted here in print form. John's first novel, The Snow Whale, a contemporary retelling of Moby-Dick, was an Independent Publisher Book Awards regional gold medalist for the West-Pacific, a Hey Small Press! best of 2011 selection, an Orion Book Prize notable, and a Chicago Center for Literature and Photography "best of the best" selection for 2012. Hey Small Press! called The Snow Whale "the funniest book we reviewed all year." He teaches in Tennessee, lives in Nashville with his family, and he can be found at thesnowwhale.com or on Twitter @thesnowhale.

Click on the soundcloud link to experience The Last Pool Party as read by John Minichillo. 






The word on John Minichillo's The Snow Whale:

When John Jacobs, a mild-mannered suburban office worker, takes a DNA test and discovers that he is part-Inuit, he so embraces his new identity that he declares it his Inupiat tribal right to set forth on a whale hunt.

So begins this postmodern satire, a seriocomic, quirky adventure set in the oldest continuously settled town in North America, in the North Slope of Alaska, on the frozen Chukchi Sea, literally at the top of the world, where the inhabitants and their ancestors have depended on subsistence whaling for thousands of years.
*lifted from goodreads with love

Book Giveaway: Grey Cats

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 3 AM Press

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

We will be reading and discussing Grey Cats 

with Adam Biles.

In order to stimulate discussion, 

3 AM Press has agreed to give away 10 eBooks (mobi and epub formats available)

 INTERNATIONALLY

Here is the Goodreads description:

As an ash cloud impends over Paris, our English narrator wakes up alone and heads out in search of his French girlfriend, a habitual night-time wanderer. Passing through the unfamiliar landscape he recollects how they met and how their lives intertwined. But as his leads dry up and the ash falls heavier, he realises that even his most basic assumptions – about Paris, his girlfriend, and himself – are overturned once darkness falls. 

GREY CATS is a picaresque descent into the belly of the Parisian night – a mischievously comic novel that explores the psychology and mythology of place, questions the fluid boundaries of consciousness, and ideas of identity, love, and lost direction. 

Against a backdrop including the illusive Commissaire; a gang of roller-skating urban guerrillas; an army of demonic marionettes; an underground swingers’ club and the blood-soaked Theatre-du-Grand-Guignol, unseen in Paris for half a century, we quickly come to understand the truth behind the old French expression: “At night, all cats are grey.”

This giveaway will run through February 8th. 

Winners will be announced here and via email on February 9th.

Here's how to enter:

1 - Leave a comment stating that you'd like to receive a copy of the book. 

2 - State that you agree to participate in the group read book discussion that will run from March 15th through the end of the month . Adam Biles has agreed to participate in the discussion and will be available to answer any questions you may have for him. 

 *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!

Scott Dominic Carpenter's Guide to Books & Booze

Time to grab a book and get tipsy!

Books & Booze  premiered as a new mini-series of sorts here on TNBBC back 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. 

Scott Dominic Carpenter Drinks It Up

Let me start by breaking the rules. Yes, yes, I know: in “Books & Booze” we’re supposed to be the drinkmeister, crafting cocktails that incarnate each of our characters. But This Jealous Earth isn’t a novel. It’s a collection of 16 short stories, and if I lined up a shot for each member of my little community, well, let’s just say you’d be over the legal limit pretty darn fast. And some of you probably have to drive. For example, to the bookstore. To buy This Jealous Earth.

We’re talking hard liquor here. There’s no lingering over a glass of Pinot Grigio, no sipping of Mint Juleps. The first lesson about drinking comes in the opening story, “The Tender Knife,” where mild old Walter—a husband, a grandpa even—has to take a blade to his beloved pets. He won’t be able to face the ordeal without healthy doses of whiskey, high-octane stuff—single malt, peaty, strong enough to disinfect the cuts in his feet after he stomps over broken glass. (See how useful it is to have whiskey on hand? Just think of all the disease teetotalers bring upon themselves.) “The Tender Knife” is a gentle story that turns brutal, and by the end you’ll need a stiff drink yourself. So why not swing by the liquor store? You’re already going out anyway. Remember? On your way to the bookstore?

Overall, each story is its own drink. Take “Inheritance,” where Milo McCrae works with his sister to clear out their dead father’s home. This one is like sangria swilled on a hot day. It goes down so easily, and the effects sneak up on you. One minute you’re reminiscing in a pleasant haze, but the next, when you try to stand up, your face is making friends with the pavement. That’s how the past hits Milo when he lifts the lid on his childhood and the old ghosts spring to life. Do you need the ingredients for sangria? Red wine, triple sec, chunks of citrus and a medley of your favorite juices. So add the grocery store to your list of destinations.

Ever hear of scorpion shots? That’s right: at some bars you can order a dose of rum or tequila with one of these critters swimming around in the bottom of your glass. It adds an extra thrill. (Mr. James Bond recently popularized another version of this practice, with a scorpion perched on his knuckle as he drank, in Skyfall.) That’s what “Field Notes” is like, and not just because the kids in that story are fascinated by the venomous wildlife in the Arizona desert. No, the charge they get comes from brushing up against other kinds of danger—not just canyon cliffs and sibling torture, but also the rumbling tension between their parents, whose relationship is in danger of going nuclear.  I confess I’m not quite sure where to send you for all the accoutrements of scorpion shots. The pet store? Heck, give it a try.

OK, so I’m not going to do all sixteen stories. But I should mention the drams of aquavit—the six super-concentrated pieces (each just two or three pages long) scattered throughout the book.  They’re small. Unintimidating. But boy, do they pack a wallop.

In short, This Jealous Earth offers you a kind of literary bender unlike any other. You’ll hit all the highs and lows. Yes, there will be the giggles, but twenty pages later you’ll be filled with dread. And as with all over-indulgences, this one will hang over you for a while. So stop by at the pharmacy. Pick up some aspirin. Since you’re going out already.

Or if you’re too looped to drive, just order it at http://midwestgothic.com/2011/01/this-jealous-earth-by-scott-dominic-carpenter/.

Scott Dominic Carpenter

www.sdcarpenter.com

Scott Dominic Carpenter was born in Minneapolis but grew up on the move. After proving himself ill-suited to mining, factory work, and other forms of hard labor, he took refuge in libraries and classrooms, many of them in Madison, Wisconsin. He teaches French literature and critical theory at Carleton College (MN), but in addition to his scholarly work, he commits fiction, examples of which have appeared in venues like Chamber Four, Ducts, Midwestern Gothic, The MacGuffin, Prime Number and Spilling Ink. A Pushcart Prize nominee and a semi-finalist for the MVP Competition from New Rivers Press, he will soon release a debut novel (Theory of Remainders, Winter Goose Publishing).

Where Writers Write: Claudia Smith

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 the authors roll up their sleeves and make the magic happen. 

This is Claudia Smith. 

Her stories have been published in several journals and anthologies; her short short collections, The Sky Is A Well And Other Shorts and Put Your Head In My Lap are available from Rose Metal Press and Future Tense Books respectively. She is currently working on a book, Quarry Light, with Magic Helicopter Press. More about her can be found at claudiastories.com

Claudia sent us a video, which gives us a peek into her writing space:

Where Claudia Smith Writes

(not sure why it uploaded to YouTube sideways but there ya go!)

Next week, come see where Mark Maynard  finds his writing mojo.

Review: Could You Be With Her Now

Read 1/15/13 - 1/16/13
3 Stars - Recommended to fans of the emotionally charged and slightly taboo
Pgs: 180
Publisher: Dzanc Books 

While reading Jen Michalski's Could You Be With Her Now, I found myself oscillating between a slew of emotions, which, for me, is the mark of an talented writer. Unafraid of the strange and uncomfortable, Jen pushes and pounds against the walls that separate the acceptable from the unacceptable with these two novellas.

In I Can Make it to California Before it's Time for Dinner, Jen introduces us to Jimmy, a mentally handicapped teen (think 5 year old Jack of Room and Lenny from Of Mice and Men, all rolled into one)  whose knowledge of the world is limited to the street in front of his house and the shows he watches on TV. This naivety leads to the accidental death of a neighborhood girl when he heads out in search of his tv show "girlfriend" after a fight with his brother. Guilt ridden and fearful of the consequences Jimmy will face, his brother tells him to hide behind the schoolyard until things blow over but Jimmy loses his way and gets picked up by a sleazy truck driver with bad intentions.

May- September deals with the unlikely pairing of two women and the relationship that develops between them as they begin working together. Alice, a young writer who has just broken up with her girlfriend, is hired by Sandra, an intense and particular older woman, to write her memoir. As their awkward friendship develops into something more, they struggle to let go of their individual baggage and the unspoken taboos that come with the territory.

While both are well written and open our eyes to the delicate, fragile side of humanity, my favorite of the two - I Can Make it to California... - will drown you in an ocean of emotion. Unaware of the ugly and inappropriate side of human nature, Jimmy's childlike ability to trust strangers and believe what is told to him is almost too painful to bear and its simplistic point of view makes your heart bled for him as events begin to unfold. As I read, I was finding it harder and harder to breathe, feeling my throat constrict with disgust and my stomach sour as I watched every parent's worst nightmare unfolding before my eyes.

May-September offered my brain a welcomed reprieve by switching gears and gracefully dealing with a more appropriate (and for me, slightly less realistic) form of human interaction. While their relationship is incredibly tender, I had a very difficult time understanding what attracted Sandra to the much younger woman, even as I questioned Alice's infatuation with her.

As a woman in my mid-thirties, I feel I am right on the cusp of the age-gap crisis. On one side of the fence are the twenty-somethings. While they are not entirely taboo, the early twenties are longer attractive to us. They are too untouched by life, too wide-eyed and fickle, too chiseled (yes, believe it! It is possible). On the other side hang the forty and fifty-somethings. Closer to us in age and maturity, defined much more by what they've done than what they wish to be, their life experience is more of an aphrodisiac.  Look at Viggo Mortenson, George Clooney, Michelle Pfifer, and Sharon Stone. Amirite? Ladies, wouldn't you take Robert Downey Jr over Ashton Kutcher? Johnny Depp over Robert Pattinson?

But someone who is on the early side of their twenties falling in love with someone who's settling into their sixties? I have a hard time processing that. The age gap is just too incredible, the personalities and interests just too vast and divided.

Kudos to Michalski for giving me ALL THE EMOTIONS. Whether you fall into these two stories willingly, or struggle to catalog and exercise all of the demons you are dealing with as you make your way through, one thing is certain. Michalski will make you feel. And feeling... well, feeling anything feels good.

Gabriel Böhmer's Guide to Books & Booze

Time to grab a book and get tipsy!

Books & Booze  premiered as a new mini-series of sorts here on TNBBC back 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. 

Beetle Days’ Books & Booze

You’ve not read my novel. There’s a good reason for that. It’s not out yet! But it is currently a Kickstarterproject, and you can pre-order a copy. I got in touch with TNBBC, and after checking out my page, Lori was kind enough to let me contribute to the site. Thanks Lori!

Beetle Days is a satire about the greed and herd mentality one so often sees today. Told as a fable of talking sheep, people, and dissatisfied beetles. Beetles that don’t stand in queues. Insist on free air travel. And steal things whilst mouthing off.

The book’s a bit experimental. Sometimes silly. Sometimes sad. About here. And there. Me. And you. And booze certainly plays a role. Here are some of the characters you can encounter and their TNBBC drinks!

Abaddon’s Last Tipple

-1.5 oz Absinthe

-Raw Cane Sugar Cube

-Soda Water

-Handful of Snow

-1 Stick from Outside (It can be a Cinnamon Stick if you must)

You’ll need

-Absinthe Glass

-Absinthe Spoon

-Ice Pick?

-Matches

Get your snow, or use an ice pick on your freezer to make some (good exercise), and place in glass. Pour in the Absinthe. Spoon goes on the glass and the sugar on the spoon. Slowly add the soda water to dissolve the sugar. Get your stick and dip it in Absinthe. Light on fire. Hold a few seconds. Marvel at sparkly fire! Throw it in.

Who’s Drinking? Abaddon, the Death Watch Beetle

He’s an old beetle that lives in the rafters of the farmhouse. He has a deep kind voice, but if one listens to his words, it becomes clear that he’s a pest of the highest order. He likes to wait for John (our human protagonist) to fall asleep and then tells him strange and terrible things. Not loud enough for John to register his words, but loud enough for them to echo in his dreams.

Abaddon would like to tap on wormwood, but he’ll settle for a nice drink of Absinthe. He generally keeps it traditional, but his favorite accompaniments are fire and snow.

***

Sangria Valais

-Glass of Chasselas White Wine

-Handful of Alpine Strawberries

-1 oz Kirsch

-1 tbs Raw Cane Sugar (to taste)

You’ll need

-Trustworthy Cat

-Wine Opener

-Spoon

Plant your strawberry bushes. Employ your trustworthy cat to guard them. Give her license to kill if beetles show up. And instruct her to purr lots. The vibrations and frequency will deter most pests. Now wait for a few months until the fruit arrives. Is it there? Is it ripe? Good. Harvest! Sloppily throw everything into a glass and enjoy.

Who’s Drinking? Françoise, the Valais Blacknose

She’s a sheep. She’s not terribly bright, but very nice. And she can talk.

While extensive research has concluded that the difference between speaking and mute animals is negligible, it’s of note that discount supermarket chains were the sole sponsors of the study. Luckily, John refuses to eat Françoise. And instead, she runs a landscaping business. But in all honesty she just demolishes gardens and hopes to be paid.

The combination of ingredients in the Sangria Valais reminds her of home. And it’s just this kind of nostalgia that goes well with slow and steady intoxication.

***

Bourbon and Strange Ice

-Quality Bourbon

-Orange

-Mint

-2 tsp Raw Cane Sugar

You’ll need

-Plastic Container (4X the Dimensions of an Ice Cube)

-Good Kitchen Knife

-Heavy Book on Hypnosis

Plant your orange trees and mint bushes. Your cat watching the strawberries? Good. Up the kitty treats to watch these as well. Harvest! Cut some orange rind and wash with the mint. Coarsely chop the rind. Bruise the mint by wrapping in a towel, placing on the floor, and throwing your hypnosis book as high as you can (ideally landing on the leaves). This will ensure even bruising… I think. Throw rind and mint into your plastic container and add the sugar. Add water. Put in freezer. As it’s beginning to solidify mix well so everything’s even. Once solid, you’ll have a nice chunk of ice riddled with mint and rind. Throw into an old fashioned glass and pour bourbon over. Play my song More Whiskey, and find a nice view and keep refilling!

Who’s Drinking? John, the Person

He doesn’t travel well. He sleeps, but never deeply. And always has strange dreams because of Abaddon. He finds both these issues remedied somewhat with books on hypnosis, and a few good drinks. Sometimes he feels full and bad in the mornings as a result. So please drink responsibly.

John finds beetles quite irritating and wishes they would stop taking stuff from his apartment. There are nice things in John’s life as well though. Like the talking sheep, and the farm, and the bird of prey that visits him but never says anything, despite being well versed in the classical languages.

Bourbon has just the flavor and kick for right before bed. The fresh ingredients, grown in John’s backyard, finish everything off nicely. Goodnight, Sleep tight. Don’t let the beetles bite.

***

Better Coffee (for the Teetotal)

-Roasted Coffee Beans (less than two weeks old)

-Lemon

-Sugar (if you must)

You’ll need

-Antique Handheld Coffee Grinder (Such as a Zassenhaus grinder)

-Stovetop, Semi, or Fully Manual Espresso Maker

-An Opinel Pocket Knife

Grind your coffee beans. Use your Espresso maker (you know how to do it). Cut a thin sliver of rind from the lemon. Wash it! Who knows what beetles have climbed all over it?! Pour your coffee shot in an appropriate vessel. Throw in the lemon rind. Add ice if you like. 

Who’s Drinking? Everyone

Otherwise they’ll need a nap. And the modern world isn’t comprised of enough hours in the day for that sort of thing. And beetles will take their stuff.

***

Writer Gabriel Böhmer was born in Zurich, and has lived in London, Buenos Aires, and Boston. He used to work in the consulting industry but left in 2011 in pursuit of his own work (a production company in its start-up phase) making things and writing. He enjoys long distance running, building fires (to cook things), and banging on random objects to see what sound they'll make.

Beetle Days is currently a Kickstarterproject. The campaign ends Feb 15^th. Official Site. Twitter. 

Where Writers Write: Colin Dickey

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 the authors roll up their sleeves and make the magic happen. 

This is Colin Dickey. 

Colin is the author of Cranioklepty: Grave Robbing and the Search for Genius. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Lapham’s Quarterly, Cabinet, TriQuarterly, and The Santa Monica Review. 

He is also co-editor (with Nicole Antebi and Robby Herbst) of Failure! Experiments in Aesthetic and Social Practices. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, he now lives in Los Angeles.  Author photo by Seth Sherwood.

 Where Colin Dickey Writes

I write—habitually, necessarily, endlessly, pathologically—in cafés. Of all sorts—corporate coffee shops amidst commuters getting their morning double half-caff venti sugar-free lattes; hipster cafes with their hand-picked fair-trade small-batch really-expensive pour-over coffee; and every where in between. Mom and pop cafes that make terrible mochas and have décor left over from a hellish mid-80’s yardsale. Places packed to the gills with college students surfing the web. Places that were hip when Nirvana’s Nevermind was released and haven’t bothered to update anything since then. I can only spend a few hours at a time in any given coffee shop, which means that when I’m under a deadline I’ll hit three or four coffee shops in a day, starting in the morning and going until the last one closes at 10 or 11 p.m.  Which means in such cases I’m usually over-caffeinated and a little nauseous.

My writing life consists of wobbly tables, the barrista who thinks that playing Counting Crows on repeat is appropriate, west-facing windows that obliterate the world with sunlight in the late afternoon, a mental cartography of where the most electrical outlets are, and who has the best pastries.

I can’t write at home, which is a shame. But at home I’m surrounded by things that make me happy and distract me, and especially in the late afternoon my house makes me want to nap. Nor can I write in libraries. I’ve come to realize that places like that—quiet places like my house or a library or a place suited to writing—all have the same problem: a kind of stifling quietness, an oppressive weight that makes it more, not less, difficult to concentrate.

What’s important for me about coffee shops is the ambient noise and motion, the sense that things are going on around me. I tune most of this out with headphones, but even in the background it helps to remind me that the world is in motion, that the day is passing me by and I need to stay focused, and that someone is watching me play yet another game of Sudoku. It doesn’t matter if this isn’t true; it helps me to internalize the vague, disinterested stares of those around me.

The problem with writing at home is that it’s just me. Ditto with the library, where the goal is to obliterate anybody but you. But reading, at its heart, is a not-entirely-equitable relationship between reader and writer, between oneself and one or more perfect strangers. I love being in cafes because I never forget about that relationship, that there’s always someone at the other end of the page.

Check back next week to see where Claudia Chen finds her inspiration.

The Audio Series: Lynn Melnick

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, Lynn Melnick reads two poems from her debut collection If I Should Say I Have Hope, published by Yes Yes Books.

Click on the Soundcloud link to experience poems from If I Should Say I Have Hope as read by Lynn Melnick.






The word on If I Should Say I Have Hope:

The title of Melnick’s stunning book is a microcosm of the poems within—the uncertainty of If I Should Say followed by the defiance of I Have Hope. Her poems follow moments of unmooredness ("I am best / when I dabble in consciousness and a soundly / spinning room") with blinding insight (“You wouldn’t know happy if it kissed you on the mouth”)—tiptoeing followed by a kick to the head. On the melancholy-go-round of these poems, there’s a swan-seat for sadness but also a tiger called Beauty and a horse called Hope. The unexpected music and syntax of Melnick’s work will make you want to ride/read it again and again.

- Matthea Harvey
*lifted from goodreads with love

Review: The New hunger

(Not the actual cover image)

Read 1/12/13 - 1/15/13
4 Stars - Strongly Recommended to fans of Warm Bodies, zombie lit, and prequels that refuse to give it all up
Pgs: 128 (E-novella)
Publisher: Zola Books
Release Date: 1/28/13

It's the early days of the collapse. The streets are littered with corpses, buildings have been looted and cleaned out, and the dead are slowly taking to their feet.

Twelve year old Julie rides in the SUV with her parents as they move from city to city in search of safe zones. She misses her friends and her school, but is learning to adapt to this hard, new life. Somewhere else, Nora and her little brother Addis pick through stores and buildings in search of food and temporary shelter, always on the lookout for other survivors. They are starving and scared, and are being followed by a silent large man with a gaping hole in his gut. Meanwhile, in the woods, a tall man begins to stir, a new kind of life animating a body that was once dead. He has no memory of who he is but immediately feels a strong desire to find others.

As these characters make their way towards each other, awful and unexpected things will happen and as the dead become more aware, underestimating their power and hunger can be fatal.

The New Hunger behaves very much like a prequel - giving its readers a glimpse into each characters' back story, building the tension and expectations typical of a zombie apocalypse that pushes these separate groups together - while still screaming for even more back story and falling this short of  leaving off where Warm Bodies began.

Fans of Warm Bodies will be happy to find themselves falling back into Isaac Marion's capable hands, trusting the decisions he makes along his destroyed and demolished landscapes, eagerly anticipating his every twist and turn. Never read Warm Bodies? No worries, The New Hunger works very well as a stand-alone novella too. Zombie fiction lovers who pick this up are guaranteed to find something to sink their teeth into.

Other recommended Warm Bodies / zombie / prequel-ish online samplings can be found here: Boarded Window and here: I am a Zombie Filled with Love

Go get your zombie on!

Review: Death of a Ladies' Man

Read 1/8/13 - 1/12/13
3.5 Stars - Recommended to readers who like their love complicated and devious
Kindle eBook
Publisher: 3AM Press

Dear dirty politician,

Did you really think you could fuck around on your wife, for years no less, and not get caught? Haven't you witnessed enough of your brothers falling from grace for the exact same thing? What makes you so special, that you should be spared the same embarrassment?  Because you were careful? Because you took precautions? Ha!

Once a cad, always a cad, amirite? So sad, really. The shame and humiliation your family had to suffer, all because of your selfish acts.. your inability to keep it in your pants.. your obsession with the female sex organ. You got so used to having whoever you wanted, whenever you wanted, that you let it cloud your thinking. The power of your position went straight to your... head. It boiled your blood, didn't it, the desire? To have sex with a hot woman, any woman? It started to drive you mad, didn't it?!

Seeing a lovely lady and expecting, convincing yourself that she wanted you as much as you wanted her. What gave you the right? It certainly served you right, you fuck up. You horny bastard. You give men a bad name. A bad rap. You're the reason wives worry when their husbands call from the office and tell them they're "running late". You and your cheating ways.

And your wife, man, did she make it easy for you, or what? No balls on her, that one. The less she knew, the better and how lucky for you that she never questioned or cared what you were up to when you were away from home for so long. Poor girl, no self esteem, no self respect. And willing to stand behind you through almost all of it. Why am I not surprised that this added fuel to your cheating-fire instead of filling you with guilt?

Oooohhh, but the guilt eventually found you, didn't it? No matter where you hid or how hard you tried to outrun it. It worked its way into you and consumed you and made you mad with it.

I almost wish your wife had found out before the rest of us did. It might have been your saving grace.

Signed,
A disgusted non-voter.