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.
Jan Kozlowski is a freelance writer and web consultant, who lives in Connecticut with her husband of 24 years, a neurotic German shepherd mix named Louie, and 8 rescue cats. She chatted to me about her new book, why e-books are the new pulp fiction, and why you should write what you love.
Continue reading “Author Interview: Jan Kozlowski”
I am taking the weekend off, as I’m sure you are too, to watch Game of Thrones and read books and eat chocolate. This is what public holidays are for. However, if you want something else to entertain you, why not try online Madlibs? Yeah, you read right, Madlibs. Remember them? That may depend how old you are… but basically you stick in a bunch of verbs and adjectives and the like and it rewrites a piece of literature for you, like Hamlet’s third soliloquy:
To be, or not to admire, – that is the chocolate;
Whether ’tis nobler in the magic to suffer
The slings and kittens of tasteless fortune,
Or to take eggs against a sea of eggs,
And by giving end them. To die, – to compete, –
No more; and by a compete to say we end
The turkey and the five billion natural shocks
That flesh is taxidermist to, – ’tis a raven
suddenly to be wish’d. To die, – to compete,-
To compete! perchance to precede! ay, there’s the popcorn;
For in that compete of death what muffins may come
When we have radiated off this raspy coil,
Must give us jellybabies….
It’s hours of literary fun, I tell you – not to mention, like, totally wacky.
12 Books in 12 Months 