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For the past few weeks, I’ve been reading nonfiction almost exclusively. There have been a few novels scattered here and there, but not as many as my usual literary diet requires. So to break out of my nonfiction rut, I decided to read a bigtime, serious, attention-getting novel. I grabbed one that generated a ton [...]

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Nothing to do with books, but guitars are my second love, so here ya go… While many listeners may still be debating the audio quality of Metallica’s new CD, Death Magnetic, that’s no reason to stop you from entering this cool contest. If you like Metallica, that is. Or, if you want a badass guitar. [...]

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In 2005, Matt Bondurant published The Third Translation, a book that blended the study of Egypt, professional wrestling thugs, cults, London musuems, extensive research, and hieroglyphic puzzles. The debut novel received critical acclaim and was published in a number of countries around the world. Now, Bondurant is back with a dramatically different tale. Based on [...]

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Dzanc Books, one of the coolest small, independent publishers out there, has some interesting activities in the coming weeks. Mark your calendars now, because you’ll want to get in on this action. First up, writers can submit their work-in-progress for the 2008 Dzanc Prize. The winner receives $5,000. In keeping with Dzanc’s mission of supporting [...]

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Deciding when to move on from a story (or book or poem or play or whatever) is a challenging choice that bedevils many writers. On the one hand, there are those romantic notions of “never give up on your work!” but on the other hand, there is no doubt that as an author you must [...]

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So as you know, I’m not generally a fan of how-to writing books. I always make sure to mention my favorites (Pat Walsh’s 78 Reasons Why Your Book May Never Be Published… and John Dufresne’s The Lie that Tells a Truth definitely deserve a place of honor on your writing shelf next to John Gardner [...]

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Although I generally like to think of myself as a man of honor, I must admit that I’ve been severely lacking in this one instance. Way back in June when the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers were playing in the NBA Finals, I placed a bet on Kobe and the boys to win. Obviously, [...]

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I’ve often marvelled at how some of these current events books get pitched, written, and published so quickly. Well, the New York Observer has an interesting article about a Sarah Palin book proposal that was making the rounds. In the article, literary agent Curtis Yates says, “The intent was to finish the book by a [...]

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Louis Bayard reviewed Matt Bondurant’s new novel, The Wettest County in the World for Salon.com. The novel, based on Bondurant’s grandfather, deals with crime, corruption, and moonshine in the hills of rural Virginia. “Bondurant’s bootleggers are eminently touchable and, even in their worst moments, touching,” Bayard writes. “This is a lyrical and riveting book about [...]

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Chances are, you’ve got a stack of rejection letters where agents say they just didn’t loooooove your manuscript enough. You’ve probably had instances of how editors passed on your book because they didn’t feel passionate enough to face the gauntlet of editorial board and marketing meetings. You’ve probably read articles where agents and editors use [...]

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I wrote about Farhad Manjoo’s True Enough: Learning to Live in a Post-Fact Society for CrunchGear. Click here to read the entire piece. Manjoo’s text is intriguing. He points out how, as people, we have always had a tendency to believe what we want to believe. However, recent technological advances make it easier for us [...]

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Or, at least one of them. Jessica at Book Ends has an interesting post on how she reads the different types of material she gets.

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