Why I like the Kindle after all

I sat across from a woman at Mighty Fine–a burger place in Austin, Texas–today who had a burger in one hand and a Kindle in the other. By the end of the meal she’d already purchased my book EVACUATION PLAN and had it next up in her Kindle queue. I think I like this technology thingy!

Reading at Bookpeople from EVACUATION PLAN

Too cheap to buy my book? Rent it

Steve Booker, appropriately, holding up my book which he got as an Xmas present!

In one of the strangest forms of availability for my novel-in-stories EVACUATION PLAN, you can now rent it here for a paltry $9.99. Hey, for a few more bucks I'll hand deliver an autographed copy to you (my airfare to your door may apply, read fine print for details).

The book review in repose

Here's what no one tells you about being a published writer: people will hate you, be bored with you and sometimes even overpraise you. Yes, I'm talking about the snarky book review, a nasty little secret I've tried to avoid mentioning in the time my novel-in-stories Evacuation Plan has been out. But sometimes you just gotta speak up.

Take the woman who said this about my book:

"The narrative is all first person, but jumps from the main writer, to each of a variety of people he meets at the hospice - some staff and some greiving family members. The whole premise is a bit suspect in the first place as I doubt any hospice just lets a filmaker or writer hang out at its nurses station and sleep on its couches as our main character does here. Most of the, what are essentially short stories, are not interesting, with the exception of one or two."

Ouch! Of course, the book was inspired by my experiences on a very similar hospice couch...

Now here's what the same reviewer had to say about a few other horrifically bad books:

"A good quick read, but the stream of consciousness thing is annoying coming from a teenage narrator and I found the whole premise kinda shallow and uninteresting."
--The Catcher in the Rye

"A few worthy scenes and descriptions. But overall too disjointed, irrelevant, and dare I say...boring at times. It felt like absolutely no movement to any discernable plot, just meanderings around an only vaguely interesting family tree."
--One Hundred Years of Solitude

"I don't usually care for short stories and this collection is no different. Although her descriptive ability is good, short stories have to get interesting or relevant very quickly for me, and none of these did."
==Interpreter of Maladies

"I can't relate to the characters at all and feel no emotional connection or lessens learned. Not even a joy in being placed in another setting and time, since really it's a miserable set of circumstances."
--Great Expectations

"Recommended to me as a friend's favorite book, but I couldn't get through it. Just too unbelievable and I find it easy to lose focus with his writing style."
--Henderson the Rain King

"...it starts interesting, and then devolves into useless dialogue between characters I care little about. It just feels like too much work to read."
--The Sun Also Rises

I couldn't be happier to be in such crappy company.

Me in East Texas; my mother at peace

A Tiara-wearing member of the Pulpwood Queens.


A photo I took in Grand Cane, Louisiana.

What an odd last few days. I've been at the Pulpwood Queen's Girlfriend Weekend talking about my novel-in-stories Evacuation Plan (read my Austin Chronicle blogs about it here), and also visiting the area that spawned my mother. Today I went to Grand Cane and ate chicken and dumplings in the tiny town's lone cafe. It was once a grocery store, and its customers certainly included my mother's father's people--the Castleberrys.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, my mother's best friend and my two brothers today scattered my mom's ashes in the Pampa River in far South India. Somehow there's nice symmetry to this.

Book Expo America podcast

I'm off to Los Angeles this week. Check out this podcast I was interviewed for in advance of the event.

Surviving the book tour

Going on the book trail is an often odd and interesting experience. You never know where your book will sell well or what kinds of stories you'll learn along the way.

This past week I was in Waco to sign at the Barnes and Noble. I didn't have high expectations, particularly when the manager didn't even seem to know I was coming and the flyers I hand-delivered in advance were nowhere to be seen (they were later found in the back, but never posted.).

But it ended up being a good day, both for sales and for finding the cultural center of a town that the guy at the counter, a retired high school drama teacher, informed me had been declared the worst place in the country to raise kids. It seemed more friendly and wise this day.

Oh, and the dog in the photo? He's the true survivor. Look closely in the photo and you'll note the woman holding him has a cast on her arm. Seems she was grabbed a fews days earlier by two men as she was getting in her car. They shoved her in the car and took off. She opened the door on the moving car and skidded across the pavement to safety. The dog stayed behind, but was later found safely in the car. OK, maybe Waco has a little bit of work to do yet...

Buy my book for $100?

Well, not quite, but it's on sale here for $97.65. Probably when you throw in shipping it would be over $100. Um, you could always buy directly from me for a whole lot cheaper. Or might I suggest your favorite independent bookstore?

Great evening last night at the Dougherty Arts Center in celebration of Texas Writers Month (thank you for having me, Writers League of Texas). I was last up out of five writers, but got a strong reaction. Good to see some old friends there, too.

Book critics need an EVACUATION PLAN

The National Book Critics Circle's quarterly list of recommended titles is out. I'm pleased to see my idol Charles Baxter on the list, but otherwise it's very telling. ONE university press on the list and no other independents. Reviewers: Come visit the Dalton Publishing booth at Book Expo America and my publisher will be happy to give you a copy of EVACUATION PLAN.


Heres' what America's book critics say they are reading and enjoying:

FICTION

1. Richard Price, LUSH LIFE, Farrar, Straus & Giroux
2. Jhumpa Lahiri, UNACCUSTOMED EARTH, Knopf
3. Steven Millhauser, DANGEROUS LAUGHTER, Knopf
*4. Charles Baxter, THE SOUL THIEF, Pantheon
*4. Peter Carey, HIS ILLEGAL SELF, Knopf
*4. J. M. Coetzee, DIARY OF A BAD YEAR, Viking
*4. James Collins, BEGINNNER'S GREEK, Little, Brown
*4. Brian Hall, FALL OF FROST, Viking
*4. Roxana Robinson, COST, Farrar, Straus & Giroux
*4. Owen Sheers, RESISTANCE, Nan A. Talese: Doubleday

NONFICTION

1. Nicholson Baker, HUMAN SMOKE: THE BEGINNING OF WORLD WAR II, THE END OF CIVILIZATION, S. & S.
2. Drew Gilpin Faust, THIS REPUBLIC OF SUFFERING: DEATH AND THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR, Knopf
3. Mark Harris, PICTURES AT THE REVOLUTION: FIVE MOVIES AND THE BIRTH OF THE NEW HOLLYWOOD, Penguin Press
4. Honor Moore, THE BISHOP'S DAUGHTER: A MEMOIR, Norton
5. Susan Jacoby, THE AGE OF AMERICAN UNREASON, Pantheon

POETRY

1. Grace Paley, FIDELITY, Farrar, Straus & Giroux
2. Frank Bidart, WATCHING THE SPRING FESTIVAL, Farrar, Straus & Giroux
3. Eric Gansworth, A HALF-LIFE OF CARDIO-PULMONARY FUNCTION, Syracuse University Press
4. Marie Howe, THE KINGDOM OF ORDINARY TIME, Norton
5. Robert Pinsky, GULF MUSIC, Farrar, Straus & Giroux

'Emily' graduates...

Her real name is Elizabeth, but in my hospice-set novel-in-stories Evacuation Plan, she sort of is Emily, a young girl on the verge of being kidnapped. The real story is I spent a couple of hours talking and playing with Elizabeth when she was a little girl so I could get the voice right for the character in this story. Congrats, Elizabeth!

Want a free copy of 'Evacuation Plan'?

I've decided that it's easier to do book talks than it is to do in-store signings. The photo above is my view toward the front door when I signed at Barnes and Noble-Round Rock recently. Getting people to stop and talk is a challenge when you're at a table oasis in a bookstore. It's much easier when you have a captive audience at a talk!

I got a nice surprise from this new review. If you follow the link you can also leave a note for your chance to win a FREE COPY of my book!

'The Wager' adapted from 'Evacuation Plan'

What an odd, interesting experience Friday night to go see an adaptation of a story contained in my novel EVACUATION PLAN, which is set in a hospice. It wasn't the same story I wrote, but it was--if that makes any sense. The story is about a gambler and his very scientific wife who end up staying with the gambler's ex-con father at a halfway house he runs for crazy ex-cons. The father and son end up playing a game of Monopoly with the winner getting either cash or to sleep with the son's wife.

Janet Heimlich read my book to review it recently in The Texas Ovserver and asked to adapt this one story. (Yes, she is the daughter of THAT Dr. Heimlich.) She also starred as the wife, which may have been why the wife seemed more to be the viewpoint character in the play while the husband was in my story (in both cases the wife wins out in the end). The actor who played the father was wonderful, and the play overall was great. I must say it was a surreal experience, particularly when the actors were saying lines that I had written! It reminded of when I did a bit of speechwriting years ago and watched someone read my speech and evoke tears.

The play was performed at Frontera Fest in Austin, which is a competition for a wide variety of one-act performances. Hyde Park Theatre was packed. My wife and I left before the fifth and final play to go collect our baby from my sister, but of the four I saw, "The Wager" was surely the best. But, then again, I may be biased. There is a chance it will play again during the best of the fest. Keep your fingers crossed.

No Country for Old Men

I spent my birthday in the big city of Temple, Texas. This is what you do when you have a small child--you go where the grandparents will watch the boy while you get a momentary break. It also allowed me to indulge in some of my favorite things. I trolled thrift stores including one that had a very tempting stack of laser discs that were for sale as a group with a player! I din't bite, but I may go back. I bought a J. Frank Dobie book about rattlesnakes and a Big Audio Dynamite II CD. Then we went into one of my favorite book stores, the Book Cellar, which is down a narrow staircase across from the city hall. I wrote an article about Bob the owner many years ago and loved chatting with him a bit again. Bob is the local comic book guru, so I got him to choose a stack for me to buy as a present to myself.

But the really surreal part of the night was going to the theater in the mall to watch "No Country for Old Men." It didn't start off well. Sound and framing problems had the audience antsy. The movie itelf didn't help matters. Here's what I think: the best contrast to NCFOM is "Sin City," a film that is equally bloody but--in my opinion--totally soulless. "Sin City" glorifies gore in a shameless fashion and left me yawning. NCFOM shoves it in the audience's face, smears the gore around, destroys its expectations.

The Temple audience hated the film. One woman was laughing nervously at the ending. She was confused. Funny thing is the Coen brothers spelled it out for her in the film, and they did it by name. The important scene has a storekeeper in West Texas trying to make small talk with Javier Bardem's evil, evil trickster. The storekeep admits he grew up in TEMPLE, TEXAS! Bardem asks him what brought this man to a coin flip that may or may not mark the end of the man's life. Listen up, Temple folks. They were talking to you.

That scene was the heart of the story and why this film resonated with me for days. Just like the terminally ill story in my novel EVACUATION PLAN, it was about forgetting the b.s. that dominates our days (How's the weather? Want to argue politics? Who won the football game?) and being instead real, truthful and alive.

The Coens (and Cormac McCarthy) are masters, and this is their best film. The trajectory from Austin-shot "Blood Simple" to here is amazing. Note the shades of classic noir, "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" and the film it most brought to mind for me--"The Getaway." The ending confused the Temple crowd (and apparently many viewers everywhere) but it works and is organic to the movie.

My wife Tiffany was in shock at the film's end, primarily from the relentless blood and brutality. But in the middle of the night we were still discussing the film and its implications. That for me is the mark of art.

Pulling a stunt in Taylor

We had a great event at the Howard Theatre this past Sunday benefitting Hospice Austin of Williamson County. I read briefly from EVACUATION PLAN and Gary Kent showed a pristine print of of his film RAINY DAY FRIENDS with star (and rather famous stuntman) Chuck Bail on hand to tell some tale tales.


That's Gilbert Wildin and family with Chuck, Gary and Bob Ivy outside the theater. Gilbert played some blues guitar to open the event.


Grace Holland of Hospice Austin, Gary, me and my sister Clare.



Gary orders up some goodies at the counter. Cole the manager called the event the best in his time at the Howard Theatre.


Chuck Bail, Gary Kent and Bob Ivy. You may know Bob as the mummy in Bubba Ho-Tep.

Oprah? It's Joe. I've got a book for you...

Good news on the novel front. The San Marcos Daily Record did a great profile in advance of Texas Authors Day there this coming Sunday. And Dawn Papuga wrote a great review.

Meanwhile, my OLDER sister has created a group on Facebook.com aimed at getting Evacuation Plan on Oprah. Join the cause! Start by joining the group. Then send her an email telling her what a great topic it would be...

Nicholas misses his Mommy

Hard to believe he was crying right before this.

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Mommy!



Let's hope Nick doesn't inherit that nose!



The blackmail photo for when he's a teenager.



Vittles be good!

Tiffany is at a conference for a few days, so Nicholas and I and the spotted pooch Spike are toughing it out. I promised I'd post some photos for my lovely bride, so here are some I really like from this past week.

Going nuts at the Texas Book Festival

That's a nutcracker I'm hoisting in the air at my Texas Book Festival booth. I brought a bunch of pecans gathered from our yard and offered passersby a crack at them Sunday, while getting them to stop and check out EVACUATION PLAN.

Thanks to everyone who came by. I sold some books and met some incredible people! The next event is Texas Authors' Day on Nov. 18 from 2-5 p.m. at the San Marcos Public Library.

EVACUATION PLAN goes to Denmark!

I spent two hours this morning discussing my novel EVACUATION PLAN with students visiting Austin from Denmark. What a treat. They asked interesting questions and we had a lively discussion of hospice. Best of all, I can be assured that there will be many copies of the book floating around Europe. Speaking of which, my mother's friend had a copy with her on a recent flight to India and accidentally left it on the airplane. I wonder where it ended up?

Two new reviews of EVACUATION PLAN worth checking out by the wonderful Peggy Tibbitts and the good folks at Curled Up With a Good Book. Joe-O sez check them out.

And YES I will be selling the book at the Texas Book Festival this Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Look for the tents!

'Evacuation Plan' is No. 1!

I woke up this morning, grabbed the Austin American-Statesman and saw that my novel EVACUATION PLAN is ranked as the No. 1 local bestseller this week! Woo hoo! The commotion at our house confused Nicholas, but he eventually calmed down.

In other book news:

If you're in Austin and have Time Warner cable, you can catch me repeatedly this month talking about and reading from EVACUATION PLAN. I spoke to the Writers League of Texas recently and it was recorded for their series "Writing Across Texas." It's airing on Channel 10.

And a story from the book titled "The Gambler" has been adapted by Janet Heimlich into a play that will be performed in early 2008 as part of Frontera Fest.

Writers, sharks and hospice workers

It's been an interesting week. I was at the Texas Association of Creative Writing Teachers last weekend in Houston. Right before I left I got a wonderful email from the writer Carmen Tafolla, who picked up a copy of EVACUATION PLAN at Langdon Weekend and really liked it. She's offered to help with some events in San Antonio.

On the plane back from Houston I sat net to a woman who described herself as a shark wrestler. She was coming back from Nashville where she'd purchased a few more sharks for Qua, an Austin nightclub that's about to open. People there will dance over a tank of sharks!

On Monday I spoke to my first book club, and it was an important one made up almost entirely of people who work directly with hospice patients (that's me with two of the book club members in the photo. David Zuniga set this event up.). It was very enlightening and reminded me of what I hope to accomplish with my book.

This Saturday I'll be at a book festival in Manor. It's at Jenny Lane Park. Stop on by and say hi!