Exploding with new life from the wintry darkness
Upcoming releases, events and ideas of what you can read to escape the cold outdoors
College students across the nation have left their families once again and returned to institutions of higher learning — my daughter begins the second semester of her sophomore year tomorrow (after spending her winter break renovating our home, painting bedroom walls and refinishing hardwood floors).
The project meant a lot of dust and dirt so last weekend I took all our bedding— for humans and pets— to the laundromat, a place I haven’t visited in probably 30 years. I was pleasantly surprised at the use of technology. An app connected to a credit card that could connect to the various machines with the scan of a QR code and handy push notifications when one of your machines was almost done.
A great reminder that even when we think we know how to do something, if we don’t maintain our knowledge our experiences may become obsolete.
Poetry news, and more on World War II
In a recent edition of this newsletter, I mentioned how my British grandfather served on the Queen Mary during World War II and how this led to his meeting and marrying my grandmother. World War II resurfaces this week with a new poetry chapbook submitted to Parisian Phoenix by Benjamin Goluboff and Mark Luebbers. The collection, Group Portrait: Poems on a Photograph by Herman Landshoff, will release this summer.
From Ben’s original query letter:
Our subject is the well-known 1943 photograph of exiled European artists posing at Peggy Guggenheim’s Manhattan home. The poems are in various forms and voices, one for each of the sitters, one for Guggenheim, and one for the photographer. Some are funny, some are sad, all serve the project of unpacking the extraordinary photo.
A fact you may not know about me, but I adore 20th Century history and the early to mid-century fascinates me. While my interests often focus on French history and literature, and how the French civilizing mission provides a warning for modern imperialistic foreign policy, I also have an academic soft spot for Antoine de Saint Exupèry, a pilot most known for his classic The Little Prince, written while he spent World War II in Long Island.
I even have a Little Prince tattoo. But for now, I’ll stop there.
Upcoming Events
Art Director Gayle Hendricks and I are once again headed to Massachusetts. We will be attending E.H. Jacobs’ author signing event of his novel, Splintered River, at Tatnuck Bookseller and Café in Westborough, Mass., on March 8, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (18 Lyman Street for those wishing to attend with us!)
On April 19, Dianna Sinovic will be at the Barnes & Noble in the Southmont Shopping Center in Bethlehem Township launching her supernatural thriller, Scream of the Silent Sun.
More Upcoming Releases
Nonfiction: Sex
In approximately two weeks, Sex: Everything You Didn’t Know You Needed to Know by M.Christian and Ralph Greco Jr. will hit the streets. The nonfiction collection of essays is available for preorder now on Amazon [click here] and will be available in Kindle Unlimited. It’s our version of a Valentine’s Day gift for you.
Paid subscribers will find an essay from the book at the end of this newsletter.
Horror: Deadlights
In April, Hugo Yelagin will release his debut novel, a satire of classic Lovecraftian cosmic horror, Deadlights.
If you’d like to prepare for the release of this hauntingly philosophical monster story, Hugo has offered this list of his inspirations:
The King in Yellow by Robert Chambers [More information in a YouTube video here.]
Colour of Out of Space by H.P. Lovecraft
The Heart of Darkness (not the novel: Darkest Dungeon, the final boss)
A.M., the AI protagonist in I have no mouth and I must scream by Harlan Ellison
The Shimmer in Annihilation
“Haunter of the Dark,” Lovecraft.
Children’s: Echo City Capers
In May, the duo behind Echo City Capers will release a new children’s picture book, Tuli Finds a Circle. We provide for you here a cover reveal, as drawn by illustrator Joseph Swarctz.
More on Writing Craft Books
I reached out to my friends at Easton Area Public Library, where I have free monthly writers workshops on the second Thursday of the month*, asking about what writing craft books they have in their collection. (It looks like most of them are cataloged around 808 if you plan on browsing the shelves of your local library.)
The list they provided covers a broad range of writing topics and styles. I hope to explore some of them as part of my annotated bibliography of writing books available to paid subscribers.
No Plot? No Problem!: A low-stress, high-velocity guide to writing a novel in 30 days by Chris Baty
How to Write an Autobiographical Nobel: Essays by Alexander Chee
Written: How to Keep Writing and Build a Habit that Lasts by Bec Evans. [Check out her Substack here.]
How to Write a Romance Novel and Get it Published with intimate advice from the world’s most popular romance writers by Kathryn Falk
Writing Radar: Using Your Journal to Snoop Out and Craft Great Stories by Jack Gantos (classified as juvenile)
Writing to Persuade: How to Bring People Over to Your Side by Trish Hall
Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content by Ann Handley
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King [I talked about this one in my annotated bibliography here.]
How to Write a Poem by Alexander Kwame (juvenile non-fiction)
The Kite and the String: How to Write with Spontaneity and Control— and Live to tell the Tale by Alice Mattison
How to Write a Mystery: A Handbook from the Mystery Writers of America. Visit their web site here.
Brave the Page: A Young Writer’s Guide to Telling Epic Stories by Rebecca Stern (also classified as juvenile non-fiction)
How to Write a Song that Matters by Dar Williams
Paid subscribers receive excerpts of new books, access to the slides of all writing workshops at any time and curated lists of writing resources— all for less than $2 a week.
*Upcoming Writing Workshops
On the second Thursday of the month, I offer a free writing workshop at Easton Area Public Library (main branch, downtown Easton). Writers can gather at 5:30 p.m. for free writing or join us at 6 p.m. for the workshop. Each workshop features a series of exercises and time for discussion, questions and answers.
February 13: Building Good Characters, register here.
March 13: Publishing Basics
April 10: Everyday Poetry with McKenna Graf, Darrell Parry & Nancy Scott
Stay warm, buy books and watch this space for more news.
As Always—
Angel
Finding our books in stores:
** Indicates multiple authors available
*** Indicates most authors and books in-store
Andover Bookstore, downtown Andover, Andover, Massachusetts
Eight Cousins Bookstore, downtown Falmouth, Massachusetts
lala books, Lowell, Massachusetts
Tutnuck Bookseller, Westborough Shopping Center, Westborough, Massachusetts
Erotic Heritage Museum, Las Vegas, Nevada
Barnes & Noble, Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City
Barnes & Noble, Southmont Shopping Center, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania**
Barnes & Noble, Promenade Shops, Center Valley, Pennsylvania
Barnes & Noble, Lehigh Valley Mall, Whitehall, Pennsylvania**
Blue Flame Events Retail Store, Palmer Park Mall, Easton, Pennsylvania***
Book and Puppet Company, downtown Easton, Pennsylvania***
Lafayette College Store, College Hill, Easton, Pennsylvania**
Moravian Book Shop, downtown Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Remember to support your local businesses and local writers. We’re a hungry group! Here are some easy ways to do that:
Buy books, even a read on Kindle Unlimited helps!
Review books! It takes at least 50 reviews before the Amazon algorithm knows an author exists!
Tell your friends about your favorite books. Better yet— buy them a copy!
Share events, releases and photographs on social media.
Interact on Goodreads.
Tell them you like them. We all need encouragement and sometimes someone saying “I loved your book” might keep a writer from giving up the craft.
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