The Organ Takers is scheduled for publication on November 17th (just in time for the holidays). It will be available in print, e-book, and audio form. Between now and then keep an eye out for Goodreads and other giveaways. As soon as I have a box of hardcovers in my garage, I’ll start doling them out.… Continue Reading
Category Archives: For Readers
If Wolverine Had a Little Sister Her Name Would be Savage Girl
They say we don’t choose the books we read, that the books we read choose us. If that’s the case, Jean Zimmerman’s Savage Girl grabbed me by the throat, shook me violently, and screamed READ ME! Why would a book do that, you ask? The first third of the novel takes place in Virginia City… Continue Reading
New Book Bubbles
Since I first introduced you to Bublish and the concept of book bubbles, I’ve added a number of new bubbles for my short story The Final Push. If you haven’t read my original post on Bublish (which I’m sure no one of the planet has, and Google analytics can prove it), here’s a recap: Bublish… Continue Reading
The Me, Myself, and I Interview – Part 4
In part three of this interview, I described a spectacular (and quite morbid) ER thoracotomy, one of the more dramatic surgical cases I performed in my career. In part four, I present a case of a young pregnant woman who was referred to the surgical service with sudden onset of headaches, palpitations, and sweating whenever her… Continue Reading
Spare Parts, and Broken Hearts
A damaged cop (ho hum). Clones bred for replacement body parts (wait a minute). Flying malls that function as cities (what?). These are the main elements of Michael Marshall Smith’s dystopian noir thriller Spares. Rapt-addicted ex-cop, Jack Randall, has dropped off the grid following a great personal tragedy. He takes a job as caretaker of one of the farms that houses clones (the “spares”… Continue Reading
Sleep Your Troubles Away
A gothic horror story set in an old psychiatric hospital on the windswept coast of England. Psychological experimentation circa mid-1950’s. A medical mystery that stumps one of the great psychiatrists of the day, as well as his young protégé. If any of this lights up the literary centers of your brain, you will want… Continue Reading
The Four D’s: Part 5 – Depth of Story
If you’re an aspiring writer you know all about plot and subplot. Plot gives us the spine of the story, and subplots add depth, but where do plot and subplot take root? In theme. What is theme? Theme is what a story has to say about the timeless truths and facets of the human… Continue Reading
Gatsby vs Carraway – Whose Story Is It?
Many regard F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby as one of the great literary achievements of its time. Published in 1925, the story accurately reflects a cross-section of post-World War I America. Referred to as the Jazz Age, the early- to mid-1920’s brought unprecedented economic gain to post-war America, benefiting primarily the established upper… Continue Reading
The Four D’s: Part 4 – More on Depth of Character
At the welcome reception for my MFA program I was asked the following question: when my novel is published and on bookstore shelves, next to which author would I like to see it placed? I had never thought about this and found myself unable to come up with a satisfactory answer. Later, as I… Continue Reading
Hell Hath No Fury Like That of the Scorned Woman
DENNIS LEHANE once said that the short story is the prose writer’s best chance for perfection. The novel is too big and unruly, but with the short story, the author can come close to getting it just right. I think Holly M. Kothe has approached perfection with her story collection Sweet Violent Femmes. The collection contains… Continue Reading