There’s always a lot of literary activity happening in Edinburgh – just look at UNESCO’s What’s On page if you don’t believe me – but there’s nothing quite like Electric Tales, returning to The Stand once again tomorrow night. I spoke to comedian, writer and ET founder Sian Bevan to find out more.
Continue reading “Storytelling and Smiles – an interview with Electric Tales”
If you are reading this, I am probably in Berlin – or elsewhere in mainland Europe. I have scheduled posts to cover the time I am away, and I’d urge you to keep coming back to read them all because there are some corkers in there. Such as:
Monday April 23rd– Interview with Sian Bevan about Electric Tales storytelling and comedy night in Edinburgh
Wednesday April 25th – Why I Write by John Steele
Friday April 27th – April’s Pictonaut Challenge
Monday April 30th – Fanfiction, a brief introduction by Seneska
Wednesday May 2nd – The Book Blogger interviews #1 Roof Beam Reader
Friday May 4th – How to Say Thank You Part 1 by Tracey S. Rosenberg
Monday May 7th – How to Say Thank You Part 2 by Tracey S. Rosenberg
Wednesday May 9th – The Book Blogger interviews #2 Tolstoy is my Cat
Friday May 11th – Interview with Laura from Write in for Writing’s Sake
Monday May 14th – The Politics of Book Buying by Lyndsay Wheble
Wednesday May 16th – The Book Blogger Interviews #3 Rob Around Books
Friday May 18th – Feminism in Romantic Fiction (or lack thereof) by Rose McConnachie
Monday May 21st – Young, single and free of Venereal Disease? You too could be a romantic hero… by Rose McConnachie
Wednesday May 23rd – The Book Blogger Interviews #4 The Lit Bitch
I will endeavour to moderate comments occasionally so please do leave them to show my lovely guests some love – if your comment doesn’t appear right away it’s because I’ve not been on tinternet to tell Word Press you’re with me, but it will turn up eventually!
As of today I am off gallivanting around mainland Europe with an interrail card and a bindle full of euros, which means I’m leaving the blog in the very capable hands of a selection of interviewees and guest posters until the end of May. First up, professional writer and researcher Lucy Redland explains the case for getting yourself a Literary Agent.
Continue reading “Literary Agents – Always The Right Option?”
The Sugar Girls by Duncan Barrett and Nuala Calvi is a social history of women in London’s East End who worked in the Tate and Lyle sugar factories after WW2. The book takes the stories of four women as a focal point and weaves in snippets of other people’s lives and memories. I haven’t been reading a lot of non-fiction since leaving university but I really think this is worth a look – especially for young women who don’t realise how much life and opportunities have changed for them since the fifties.
I spoke to one of the authors, Duncan Barrett, about how the book came to be written, stories that didn’t make the final cut, and collaborating with co-author Nuala Calvi.
Continue reading “Author Interview: Duncan Barrett”
I have a tendency to be pretty Edinburgh-centric when writing about book festivals (Edinburgh International Book Festival got pretty extensive coverage last summer and I had a guest post from the lovely Peggy Hughes about the West Port one in the autumn). So, in the interests of impartiality, it seems only right that I look into similar events occurring elsewhere. With that in mind, today I have a guest post from Clare Mackintosh, Director of the Chipping Norton Literary Festival which is being held this weekend and sounds really good. She said…
Continue reading “Chipping Norton Literary Festival”
I don’t know if you read a lot of books in PDF format, but it’s not the greatest fun you’ll ever have. Fortunately for my eyes, The House of Order by John Paul Jaramillo is only 106 pages of screen time – and the characters have worse things to deal with than dry contact lenses.
You see, I am taking part in my first Blog Tour – where a whole load of bloggers read a book by a new author and write about it in the hope of generating buzz like some kind of Samantha Brick article – and there wasn’t really time to get a hard copy sent over from the USA in time to read it.
The book is very American, which is probably only noteworthy if, like me, you’re not from round there. It is set in Colorado and New Mexico and offers little snapshots of the lives of the Ortiz family. This debut story collection is not exactly a happy book – the characters deal with addiction, broken relationships, abuse and poverty. However, they do not deal with their problems in a dramatic or heartbreaking manner, instead they do it like real human people – by simply getting on with it. There is no sense of “oh poor me” from any of the narrators, there are no pleas for sympathy and there is no moral message. It’s just like hey, this is the way it is. Sucks to be you, Ernesto Ortiz.
The narrator, Manito, alternates between telling past stories of various family members and describing the present. There’s an element of detachment as he documents the history of his family – Manito rarely seems to pass judgement, he just explains this is what he said, that’s what he said – yet you do feel a sense of injustice at the way people (particularly kids and women) are treated.
Certain themes reoccur, including domestic violence and rogue uncles (Manito’s Uncle Neto, who gets a pretty raw deal from his own dad, follows his own uncle Mitedio into a life of crime). There are also a lot of italicised Spanish words peppered throughout, which is a fun way to expand your vocabulary.
(Disclaimer: at first I found this distracting – I kept stopping to look them up, just to make sure I was understanding the relationships between people properly. I now know that Abuelita is both a Mexican brand of chocolate and an affectionate nickname meaning ‘little grandmother’ or ‘granny’, that Tio can be uncle, bloke or pal, jefita is generally an endearing term for an important female (eg your mum) and that cabron or cabrone can either be an asshole or a cuckold.)
This book is a good read for people interested in social history, those who want to learn a bit more about the 99 percent and anyone that likes peeking into other people’s lives for a few pages. However if you want lots of plot, or something that will cheer you up, perhaps save it for another day.
For my money, The House of Order is well written, evocative, and definitely worth a look. Still, don’t take my word for it – as discussed the book is on tour at the moment, so you can stop by Live to Read, Inrugian Chronicles, Books Books the Magical Fruit and Linus & Bubba Books to get a few more perspectives. And if that floats your boat, you can then enter a competition to win a signed copy… See below for details!
Novel Publicity Blog Tour Notes:
Wanna win a $50 gift card or an autographed copy of The House of Order? Well, there are two ways to enter…
About the author: John Paul Jaramillo grew up in Southern Colorado but now lives, writes and teaches in Springfield, Illinois. He earned his MFA in creative writing (fiction) from Oregon State University and, currently, holds the position of Associate Professor of English in the Arts and Humanities Department of Lincoln Land Community College. Connect with John Paul on his website, Facebook, Twitter or GoodReads.
12 Books in 12 Months 