Zounds! I’ve been reading like crazy but haven’t written a review in quite a while. Here are some capsule reviews, highlights from the past two months. All links are to Amazon. Alex Berenson’s The Night Ranger I discovered Alex Berenson a few years ago with his debut novel, The Faithful Spy and then The Silent Man. I think he’s taken a top slot in international espionage thrillers with his compelling character, John Wells, who is far more interesting than the stick-figure Jason Bourne character in the post-Ludlum series. Berenson creates scenes you can see in your mind’s eye and believable characters and situations. I also respect the fact that he answers every single email he receives. Sleep Donation by Karen Russell Breakout novelist Karen Russell knocked our literary socks off a few years back with…
Fictional Cafe Members Wearing Their New FC Hats!
Here’s a photo of Atilla Vekony and Grael Norton at Wheatmark Publishing, sporting their new Fictional Café headgear! You can get one too! Be sure to Join the Fictional Café here to become eligible to win a FC baseball cap, then watch your email for our forthcoming contests and giveaways! Becoming a member also entitles you to submit your own creative work: poetry, short stories, novel excerpts and art. P.S. Wheatmark is publishing my latest novel, Madrone. Stay tuned for news about it!
Google’s Street Art, Across the Universe
A few years ago, Shepard Fairy, a well-known street artist, was arrested in Boston by an overzealous, graffiti-art-hating cop, for postering a portrait of Obama named “Hope” on a public wall. That strikes me as arresting someone for self-publishing their writing. Now, Google has raised street art and its cousin [or are they the same?] to new heights in its growing art portfolio. There is some wonderful art being created by artists who can’t or won’t be seen in a formal art gallery. Visit here to see more wonderful art.
What a nice surprise!
Bravery in a Windows 8 World
I don’t much care for television commercials. I mean, come on, “ask your doctor” if you need to take a placebo pill for your placebo-fantasy condition whose side effects will make you sick? But I don’t want to get started. Except my wife and I were watching “Big Bang Theory” and this Microsoft commercial comes on. Innocuous enough, but then at the end there’s some woman screeching something I cannot understand. It sounds like she’s having a bad-tattoo experience. Or maybe her phone just fell out of her back pocket and was run over by a truck. Or maybe it was a cry of frustration with trying to work a Windows 8 computer. I was curious enough to Google around to find out why she was in such pain. Turns out she’s singing something about being…
For my writing friends who want to get some of their fantasy short stories published 🙂 The anthology raises money for a good cause and your work will be promoted with other talented writers.![]()
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2024 Autumn Submission Call Visions: Fantasy, Science, and Speculative Fiction Submission Deadline: October 30, 2024.
Fresh Java! 3 Poems by Sarah Daly - is.gd/B580TA
3 Poems by Sarah Daly - The Fictional Café
www.fictionalcafe.com
This week we have some wonderful poems by Sarah Daly. Don't let their size fool you. They may be short, but these poems are full of emotion. Enjoy!
Fresh Java! "Journeys in the Dark" created by Robert Best - is.gd/wzlJov
"Journeys in the Dark" created by Robert Best - The Fictional Café
www.fictionalcafe.com
Journeys In The Dark a post-apocalyptic dark comedy. Created by Robert Best, directed by David Barr, produced by David Barr and Alan O’Brien.