So it’s out, then. The book. My ruminations on what the future may hold. My raison d’être for the past three years. That’s the end of that. File it under funky.
Except it isn’t, of course. Sales are doing well, but I’ll still be trying to push out articles about the apocalypse and the anthropocene and Armageddon. This is uncharted territory for me once again. How long do I keep up the promotional efforts? How much do I try to have the book submitted for awards? How often will I be checking Goodreads in the hope of beautiful new reviews? All questions I guess I’ll be answering over the next few months.
Roundup: Ginger Nuts of Horror gave me a sparkling review (“This book is one of those rare examples where you enjoy it and at the same time feel excited about the notion of reading it again”) and did a five-minute interview with me, during which I use the term ‘economical staccato’ to describe my writing style. My God. Over at Lauren’s Bookshelf, I generously offer a few tips on channelling your inner Hemingway and rewriting the end of a novel. I also wrote a piece for The Bibliophagist titled Opportunity in Crisis that disappeared from view almost as soon as it arrived. The things I do for book.
Paperbacks and Pinot was especially effusive with the praise, stating that By the Feet of Men is “immersive, thoughtful, gritty and as realistic an interpretation as you’re likely to get of a dystopian future”. Over at Mad Hatter Reviews in the UK (scroll down), I received an in-depth critique of the novel, with the conclusion that I’ve created “an intelligent action thriller”. What else? Sincerely Karenjo called the book thrilling, gritty and haunting, Lizbie’s Nerdy World enjoyed the economical staccato writing style, and Between the Shelves appreciated it for scratching a dystopian itch. Finally, the good Bill Halpin, author of The Cult of Eden (out in October), was kind enough to say the novel was “phenomenally written”.
Not bad.
Music this month….was scarce. I was kind of busy. So we’ll go for a victory dance:
Alice in Chains - I Stay Away
Radio Birdman - T.V. Eye
Minutemen - Corona
Boards of Canada - 1969
Floating Points - King Bromeliad
Radiohead - Optimistic
Slowdive - Souvlaki Space Station
peel here to rejuvenate.