Monday, November 26, 2007

Buy This Book!

I know, that after letting the blog languish, lo these past months, that I have a lot of nerve to make the request I'm about to make--but bear in mind that in five years of blogging, no advertising or pitches have ever been made on this blog. I have tried to keep the karma jar full. So, onward with the first ever Atrocities/Hog pitch...

I have written a novel.

For very long-time readers, this won't be a surprise. For actual readers, maybe so. Unfortunately, I had less success getting it published. My final bid was the major independent publisher Milkweed Editions, who decided to pass after subjecting it to a thorough editorial review (not just the slush pile reader, who as in many other cases, rejected it outright). In any case, I have, undaunted, decided that it's worth putting out there, damn the embarrassment and shame that comes with self-publishing. Art is, after all, a communication, not a product. There's something deeply depressing about the prospect of this thing moldering in the basement.

In fact, my failure to publish is predictable. First-time authors are doom for an industry in which 79% of books fail to sell even a hundred copies. Some yokel from Oregon with no history as a writer and no name to draw readers is a longshot from the start. Anything short of Midnight's Children and I knew it was going to be rough going. (My novel, which I will get to shortly, is good, but it's no Midnight's Children.) And so it was. (The alternative explanation, that it's no damn good, I reject on objective grounds: it is good.)

And now we come to the commercial portion of the post. I would like you, dear readers--both of you--to skip on over and buy a copy. It's a good book, honest. It has nothing to do with politics, but knowing as I do that you are sensitive, insightful, and wise, I think you will enjoy its timeless themes of love, longing, and loss and its historic sweep as it charts the life and times of a poor family from the Ozarks in this multi-generational saga. Or anyway, it evokes this emotional heft. Rather, it's about a cab driver who's trying to make a 16mm short. Still.

I'll include a description below, but I would, in all seriousness, love it if you picked up a copy. An unread novel is a terrible thing.

And don't forget--they make great gifts!

_________

The Puddle Variations
Walking Man Press, 2007, 260 pages.
ISBN: 978-0-6151-7184-5

What portion of a 16mm movie can be made for $1,000? Or, put another way, how does one turn a thousand dollars into a 30-minute short? This is the question confronting Charlie di Paulo, who has just received a seed grant from the Portland Film Institute to shoot his 16mm film. For a 26-year-old cab driver, a thousand dollars is a lot of cash, yet it won’t even cover the cost of his film stock.

Money isn’t Charlie’s only problem. His new girlfriend and his stepfather, Vic, are both convinced he should be pursuing his dream through more conventional means, and Vic has offered to pay for film school. For Charlie, whose 8mm short was good enough to win him the grant, education isn’t necessary—money is. As the book unfolds, he sets about trying to raise the money and mount the production, and along the way he receives support in various forms from the local doyenne of independent film, a cobbler, a philosophy student, and a bookie.

12 comments:

cwilcox said...

Jeff,
Thought you might like to see this, in spite of the fact that I remain unlinked on Low On The Hog
:-0
Order Number: 1825138
Order Date: 2007-11-26 21:15:00
Order Status: PAID

Congratulations man. I'm looking forward to the read.

Jeff Alworth said...

I am extremely long overdue in updating my links, and man, you just earned a top billing! I am forever indebted!

I will now hasten to fix those--which I've been meaning to do for my Hog brother for literally months. Sorry it's taken so long--

Chuck Butcher said...

Ok, #1825266
I suppose you'll still speak to us after Hollywood buys this thing? If I like it I'll pimp it, if I don't I'll just keep my trap shut. I really do expect to at least like it, from the excerpt.

Chuck Butcher said...

hey, butthead, speaking of links, this here written once in a blue moon blog gets a link off my internationally famous darn near daily and...

;-)

Jeff Alworth said...

Oy, in the face of all this generosity, my crimes and misdeeds take on a sinister quality. I have now re-done my blogroll. Chuck, another long oversight corrected. I know it will drive no traffic to either of your blogs, but it's the principle.

And thanks for checking out the novel!

Chuck Butcher said...

Well certainly whatever traffic it does drive will be literate and quite erudite..........oh gak

Chuck Butcher said...

The developement of the relationship between Charlie and Janie within the confines of cab chats is interesting, well enough done to allow the suspension of disbelief, pretty good so far. 35 pages doesn't allow for a real critique.

It arrived this afternoon, considerably quicker than their 18 day ETA.

Chuck Butcher said...

evidently you forgot to save changes...

Jeff Alworth said...

Oh man, this is really getting embarrassing. I actually fixed the template last week--or whenever we were talking about it--but it didn't appear. The code was messed up. Had you clicked on Juan Cole, you would have gone home. Still, this is poor form. I have now checked it on my wife's computer as well and confirmed it is up there.

Chuck Butcher said...

You're an Ace - it's up.

By the way, the work of fiction disclaimer is good. Yes I read things all the way.

should I resent a blog identity crisis with Juan Cole? ahhh, he tries to be left, he's just so weak at it...
;-)

Chuck Butcher said...

I caint stand it, See Chuck for...embarassment!!!

See, you can link from here now...

Chuck Butcher said...

A full review just went up, I actually didn't pan it ;-)