SlushPile.net

As I was swamped with work over the last couple of weeks, I must admit that I fell behind in my blog-reading activites. Hell, let’s be honest, I fell behind in most everything. But I’m starting to catch up. After this morning’s shower, that’s one task off my list. Shaving is next. ANYWAY (as Chuck [...]

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Speaking of such illicit matters, do you know what a gaffus is? How about a schmecker? Soon-to-be author Mr. Escobar probably knows. And you would too, if you read Talk the Talk: The Slang of 65 American Subcultures. This cool little book has more than 3,500 slang terms in the vernacular of everything from punk [...]

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  Aspiring authors are often stumped when they see agents and editors recommend a “platform” as part of pitching a book. A few people have emailed me, wondering what exactly this platform business is all about. First of all, platforms are relevant for nonfiction projects. So for those of you rushing to finish your zombie gorefest slasher [...]

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  I finally got around to reading Irvine Welsh’s The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs over the weekend. I’m not sure about the almost magical plot twist that appears midway through the book, and I’m not sure about the ending. But overall, I thought the novel was an interesting continuation in his body of work. [...]

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  As we did last week with Sideshow, the Litblog Co-Op will spend the next several days discussing George Ilsey’s ManBug. This was the second of three choices for Autumn’s Read This! selection will certainly generate some lively discussion throughout the week.  

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  So I lost my bet on when Michiko Kakutani’s trashing of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road would appear. Still no word on road tripping from the critic. Now we know how she’s been spending her time. Instead of sharpening her claws for McCarthy, it’s another inevitable skewering of a Knopf novel. This time, Kakutani reviews Richard [...]

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  I’ve been out of the mix, but my colleagues at the LitBlog Co-Op have been hard at work promoting the Fall’s Read This! finalists. Up first, we have Sidney Thompson’s story collection, Sideshow. I strongly encourage you to head over to the LBC site and check out all the great discussion. Dan Wickett, from Emerging [...]

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Syntax of Things pointed out this absolutely mind boggling Wired magazine interview with Cormac McCarthy. It seems the legendary recluse has a fondness for the Santa Fe Institute, an organization “devoted to creating a new kind of scientific research community, one emphasizing multidisciplinary collaboration in pursuit of understanding the common themes that arise in natural, artificial, [...]

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The clock is ticking on my bet that the New York Times would run a Michiko Kakutani chop-job on Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. William Kennedy’s positive review of that novel appeared on Sunday, October 8th. The next day, I speculated that Kakutani’s inevitable skewering would appear within two weeks. Well, there is only four days left [...]

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  Sorry I’ve been so silent this week. I’ve been toiling on a nonfiction project that has kept me up working until 2am and then back up at 4am so I can get a few more hours in before going to the office. But in spite of all the work, it’s been a great experience and [...]

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The gleefully venomous Miss Snark skewers the publishing industry’s more inefficient organizations today. One of my biggest pet peeves with the aspiring author gig is having to wait for months, even years, for certain journals, agents, and publishers to review your work. And that wait time is even worse when they demand exclusives or refuse [...]

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Actually, if you’re a book-blog reader, you probably already know this fine site. But I’m going to be popping in at Beatrice at least once a week (whenever the slush demons let me out) for some guest-posting. It’s a book-blog in long standing, since 1995, and I’m honored that Ron asked me to help. So be [...]

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