March 31, 2016

100th Member Contest Winners!

Hello Fictional Café patrons and Coffee Club members! You may recall that back in 2015 we ran a 100th member contest. At long last, we are happy to announce our TWO winners (they signed up on the same day, so what the heck!). Congratulations to Karen Huff and Erica Nazzaro!! You’ve won a Fictional Café baseball hat and a Fictional Café sticker. We’ve gotten such a great influx of new readers, we have actually reached (and surpassed) 150 members as well, so we are also going to give that lucky person, Judy Katz-Levine, a hat and sticker as well! Congrats to all our winners and if you didn’t win this time, stay tuned. Right around the corner we have another contest that we are super-excited about! -Your Baristas

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March 25, 2016

An Interview with V.E. Ulett, Author of the “Captain Blackwell” Novels

Posted by Jack B. Rochester in Audio Arts, Interviews, Podcasts

An Interview with V. E. Ulett, Author of the Captain Blackwell Novels JBR: How did you become interested in writing about the days of wooden sailing ships? VEU: My interest in writing springs from a love of books and reading. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. I loved C.S. Forester’s Hornblower series, and even more Patrick O’Brian’s wonderful books. I have a certain fascination with the British Royal Navy of (Admiral Horatio Lord) Nelson’s day, but I don’t read only in that era. Arturo Perez-Reverte’s Captain Alatriste novels are another favorite of mine. JBR: Those tales take place in Spain and elsewhere in the 1600s. In those times, sailors often considered a woman on board a jinx. You’ve broken through that with Mercedes, a woman who can hold her own with the men. It’s…

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March 20, 2016

“In Praise of Editing” by Sam Henrie

Posted by Jack B. Rochester in Guest Posts, News

A few weeks ago, I began mulling over an editorial blog concerning editing. I’d begun noticing, in published reviews, more criticism for novels that had multiple typos, misspellings and syntax errors. I even wrote a first draft. Then I received Wheatmark Publishing’s monthly “Marketing Newsletter” with an essay by Sam Henrie, Wheatmark’s publisher. It was far better than anything I had come up with, so I asked Wheatmark for permission to reprint. The bottom line is this: readers notice wordsmithing errors. Content may be king, but it needs editing, its queen. For all you writers, both aspiring and published alike, here is Sam’s editorial, in its entirety. In Praise of Editing by Sam Henrie Years ago I was reading the bestselling A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (on which the 2015 motion picture…

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March 18, 2016

Podcast: “Captain Blackwell’s Prize” by V.E. Ulett, Episode 3

Posted by Jack B. Rochester in Audio Arts, Podcasts

What happens when a woman comes aboard an English fighting ship in the midst of the Napoleonic wars? Well, a lot. And a lot of it will surprise you as you listen to the third episode of “Captain Blackwell’s Prize.” By this point, I trust you are as mesmerized by the characters and the story as I am, just have to find out what happens next. If so, you have several choices. You can buy the book, paperback or e-format, on Amazon. You can get an Audible to listen to. Or you can go to Podiobooks and download either individual episodes or the entire book, for free. But please do remember, a novel – regardless of its format – is the author’s labor of love, so please consider donating the paltry sum of $4.99 to Ms. Ulett for…

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March 15, 2016

Craft Notes: Pacing

Posted by Jason Brick in News

One problem with taking on any profession is that it begins to taint how you look at the world. Cops and social workers probably get the worst end of that stick. On the other hand, spending a decade as a professional martial arts instructor gave me a new level of appreciation for film choreography and fight sports. I find the same thing is affects how I read. I just finished the newest Virgil Flowers thriller by John Sandford: Deadline. Sandford’s books – and he’s certainly written his share – can be a mite formulaic, but I love the heck out of them. He’s not saying anything important, nor is he bucking for a Pulitzer or Nobel Prize for literature. He just turns out good stories year after year. Sandford (and, yes I am aware that’s a…

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March 11, 2016

Podcast: “Captain Blackwell’s Prize” by V.E. Ulett, Episode 2

Posted by Jack B. Rochester in Audio Arts, Podcasts

Thanks, Fictional Cafe coffeeheads, for your words of appreciation for “Captain Blackwell’s Prize” this past week. We even got a shout-out from the founder of Podiobooks, who is currently in Bangkok! So without further adieu, here is Episode 2; next week, Episode 3, and the week after our interview with the author. If you just can’t wait to continue, please visit Podiobooks to download the entire novel [and please be sure to show your enjoyment by tipping Ms. Ulett]. Please click on the arrow below to listen to Episode 2 of “Captain Blackwell’s Prize.”

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March 11, 2016

“Rattlesnakes” by Kathryn Holzman

Posted by Mike Rochester in Member Writing & Art

“We also spent entire nights in bed and I told her my dreams. I told her about the big snake of the world that was coiled in the earth like a worm in an apple and would someday nudge up a hill to be thereafter known as Snake Hill and fold out upon the plain, a hundred miles long and devouring as it went along. I told her this snake was Satan. “What’s going to happen?” she squealed; meanwhile she held me tight.” – Jack Kerouac * * * “Rattlesnakes can swim.” Valerie grabbed the nun’s wrist, desperate to get her attention. Thirty demonstrators walked down the highway median with children and dogs in tow. Despite the chilly January wind, the ragged line of walkers was determined to show support for a proposed rattle snake…

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March 7, 2016

Allison Whittenberg’s Politically-Charged Poetry

Posted by Mike Rochester in Member Writing & Art

“Don’t use the phone. People are never ready to answer it. Use poetry.” ― Jack Kerouac The Quickening Because I believe in perfection I believe in abortion Babies are asymmetrical They/she/he/it squander The silken grammar of routine But, a fetus can be edited Its absence assures a lacy indefectibility In the vacuum, I can breathe It’s not right It’s not the right time I don’t want to hunker down in Staten Island Or be on bed rest Or buy big clothes Or rush to alter with a gown and a groom and a promise With rice raining on me like fallout. I don’t want to be folk like my mother was folk. Children growing out of her hairdo. Dull eyes and unpainted nails. Waking on the hour to feed. Feeding. Always feeding the hungry….

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March 4, 2016

Podcast: “Captain Blackwell’s Prize” by V.E. Ulett

Posted by Jack B. Rochester in Audio Arts, Podcasts

With the beautiful, haunting notes of Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Suite No. 1 for Unaccompanied Cello”, author V. E. Ulett introduces the podcast of her novel, Captain Blackwell’s Prize. Set around the turn of the 18th century, it’s the story of an English wooden fighting ship during a period when England, France and Spain were often at war with each other. The author has done a magisterial job of capturing the nuances of speech and sailor slang, as well as the sights and smells and drama and danger from days over 200 years ago. The title is a double entendre: in those times, the word “prize” was used to describe the booty captured during warfare. In Ulett’s story, it refers to a shipment of gold captured from a Spanish ship, but also the capture of a beautiful Spanish lady….

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March 1, 2016

Steve Sangapore’s SciArt Series

Posted by Mike Rochester in Fine Art

“The fact that everybody in the world dreams every night ties all mankind together.” – Jack Kerouac Editor’s Note: I met Steve Sangapore at an art opening last year when he was showing one of his pieces (Virtuality) below. What struck me about his work was the complexity of ideas being communicated all at once. My eye would focus on one aspect of it, only to be drawn away a moment later to another section, forcing me to visually zoom in while I pondered its significance. The interconnectedness of all these seemingly disparate parts – some instantly recognizable, others more abstract – was one of the reasons I put a check next to his name on my exhibition notepad. I’d like to mention that two of the pieces – Virtuality and Omneity – are painted…

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