Author’s Promoter website decided to take on this age-old question and just published an interesting survey that asks one hundred writers why they do it. The results are kind of fun and worth checking out.

The following wonderful mini poem, “Dear Reader,” by Elliot Figman, from his book Big Spring, kind of says it all for many of us:

Dear Reader

It’s you
I’ve been waiting for

Our main character, Ted, is a bit of a loner, a cynical, down-on-his-luck ex-football-player jock looking to start over after surviving a broken marriage and an explosion at a plant in the oil sands of Alberta. He’s shaken by the horrific accident and what he sees stepping out of the fire there — a gigantic creature that looks like the devil himself. So he hops in his beloved old 1968 GTO and heads off for a new start in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

When Ted picks up a hitchhiker, a beautiful young woman named Tilda, his luck takes a turn. Whether it’s for better or worse is an intriguing question that Ted and the reader will grapple with throughout the novel. Tilda reads his fortune in her runes and tells him, ominously, that he will either “live the life of a hero or a prince,” or “come to an abrupt and ugly end.” Ted has no intention of taking her seriously, but he certainly should, as we find out soon enough.

Later that night, Ted is subdued by dwarves who tattoo his entire body with Norse imagery. He’s surprised to find himself alive the next morning after being shackled and cut and inked, after the horrible pain and suffering he endured. Only then does he begin to realize the kind of magic that the dwarves etched upon his hide; he’s been given the power of Thor the Thunder God and the mark of the Nine Worlds, a mystical realm (a place that’s both here in our world and not here at the same time) where Norse mythology is alive and well.

At first Ted just wants to rid himself of the magic that the dwarves have forced upon him and get his old life back. But he soon discovers that this won’t be a simple task. Tilda, as it turns out, comes from a family of fortune tellers who seem to know quite a bit more about what happened to him and why. They meet with Ted and convince him that if he can capture the much sought-after head of Mimir, the severed noggin of Odin’s once sage counselor, he may win his freedom. But at what cost?

In the great tradition of epic fantasy, Chadwick gives his readers a true quest novel. Ted sets out on the road with a grumbly band of malcontents, including the beautiful Tilda and his untrustworthy brother Loki (Thor’s brother, actually), the trickster, the God of Lies in Norse mythology. Tilda and Loki loathe each other, Ted is eternally grumpy, but off they all go, evading cops, brawling with giants, wrestling with magic, in search of the severed head that has the power to end the world.

The story is set in modern-day Manitoba and other rural parts of Canada — rocky, woodsy places with sprawling lakes where mythological creatures roam unseen by human eyes. Not the sorts of places you’d expect to find Norse gods fighting out their ancient grudges and settling old scores, but this is part of what makes the book so interesting and fun. Magic is right here in front of us lowly humans; we just don’t know it.

This book is a must read for fans of Norse mythology (and the Thor comics of my youth), but even if you have no foundation in either, you’ll pick up all you need to know along the way. Chadwick makes it look easy, expertly parsing out the mythology so that the reader isn’t overwhelmed.

Ted is a kind of modern-day Conan the Barbarian, a reluctant hero with anger management issues and an overzealous sex drive, who is forced time and again to pursue the course of lesser evil in hopes of stumbling across a way out of his predicament. As one bad thing leads to another, we get the feeling that Ted can’t possibly win. And yet we don’t want to believe it.

If all this sounds like a rip-roaring good time, well, heck, yes, it is. The author has a real instinct for rough-and-tumble action, gritty details, and unexpected plot twists. Reading this book is a lot like riding a rollercoaster. Once you hop on, you have no choice but enjoy the ride. Highly recommended.

Of further interest…

Visit Chadwick Ginther online.

Thunder Road was shortlisted for Prix Aurora Award for Best Novel.

Zen thought for April 2013…

“There should be a balance between material and spiritual progress, a balance achieved through the principles based on love and compassion. Love and compassion are the essence of all religion. All religions can learn from each other; the ultimate goal of all religion is to produce better human beings. Better human beings would be more tolerant, more compassionate, and less selfish.” — the Dalai Lama

Chadwick Ginther signing Thunder Road

Other authors include Kij Johnson, Jack McDevitt, and my good pals James Patrick Kelly and Robert J. Sawyer.

Galaxy’s Edge is a simultaneous e-zine and print magazine, edited by Mike Resnick, publishing a lively combination of reprints and original stories. If you go online, you can read the content for free, and you’ll find instructions on how to order the paper edition.

Check it out and enjoy!

I am happy to announce that Animal Literary Magazine published my short story “I Am Mr. Baxter” yesterday. If you aren’t familiar with the magazine, check it out when you get a chance—it’s eccentric, eclectic, and a whole lotta fun.

My dear friend Mr. Baxter has promised not to let the publication of his story go to his little noggin. He remains an ever humble and lovable cat.

(Click on Mr. Baxter’s nose for a direct link to the story.)

Corey’s main character (or husk), Sheldon Funk, becomes a kind of “viral” zombie through no particular fault of his own when he dies with his pants down in the bathroom of a commuter bus. He wakes up shocked and confused during his own autopsy, attacks the coroners, and manages to escape the morgue, but he escapes little else after that. Sheldon spends the rest of the novel trying to figure out how to deal with what has happened to him, live in a world surrounded by human flesh (food), and just get by day-to-day as a struggling gay actor with an aging mother slipping into dementia.

This is a grisly novel from the get-go, not for the faint of heart. In the first chapter, when Sheldon wakes up in the morgue after being dead for a while, as the coroners are carving him up and splaying him open, we get this lovely passage: “I watched my intestines unreel themselves and drape the body in glop. My spleen drooped over the edge of the incision, trying to permanently depart my corpse and fulfill its organ donor obligations. One kidney made a break for it; there was a mildly pleasurable irritation as it stretched its tether, like picking a scab, before it snapped and flew free. It bounced off the man’s chest and slid quickly to a stop near Craig’s head. My spleen tugged at its imprisoning ligaments, and I enjoyed the unpleasant sensation of being torn in pieces from the inside out.”

This is fairly mild stuff compared to what’s coming. But the language of death in all its fundamental ugliness is both ever-present and a very important part of the book. In many ways, Sheldon becomes alive–fully aware of himself and his body and his needs–only after he’s dead.

Notwithstanding the author’s love affair with viscera, this is a fun book. There is deadpan humor and social satire aplenty. The plot is tense and fast-paced with unexpected twists and turns, especially in the second half of the novel after the zombie’s secret is revealed to the public and his acting career takes off. The awkward relationships Sheldon establishes with others and the poignant family moments are dripping with blood and irony.

It’s easy to get lost in the nuttiness of the story, but you might also want to take a moment to enjoy the underpinnings Corey has worked so hard to lay down. He has written a good old-fashioned lampoon–a rare and wonderful treat in this day and age of banal category glorification–ridiculing at point-blank range the human stain. This is a novel about loneliness, detachment, and human cadavers walking among us. Behind all the comedy bits and violence and gore, Corey slyly dares us to think about the rot we call life and what makes us human. Highly recommended.

Of further interest…

Check out Corey’s website. 

Zen thought for February 2013…

Okay, Friedrich Nietzsche may be a bit of a stretch for a Zen thought, but considering the book of the month, I couldn’t resist this quote from the great German philosopher. I’m sure Corey would appreciate it: “The certain prospect of death could sweeten every life with a precious and fragrant drop of levity–and now you strange apothecary souls have turned it into an ill-tasting drop of poison that makes the whole of life repulsive.”

One Shot

For those who enjoy high action, fast-paced thrillers, and a cool disdain for injustice (moral ambiguity welcome) check out the Jack Reacher series. It’s okay to begin with One Shot and see the movie; it’s a fun way to get introduced to the series. You don’t have to read the novels in order of publication. Jump in anywhere, and you’re in for a wild ride. Don’t expect literary greatness. You won’t find it. Child is a plot man all the way. His writing is uncluttered and direct. His prose works for a living. But he knows how to write riveting scenes and keep a reader’s head in the game. Highly recommended.

Jack Reacher, Vigilante
Because I’m a big fan of the Reacher books, I absolutely had to see the first movie, Jack Reacher, dedicated to this larger-than-life ex-army military cop — a giant among men, the quintessential vigilante of our generation. It’s a Tom Cruise production, so naturally Cruise is the star. I was ready to be disappointed because TC is 1) a clear miscast physically to the 6′ 5″, 250 pound Reacher, 2) I was afraid he’d overplay the role and come off too arrogantly, and 3) well, how do you ignore the Scientology crap? I’m happy to report that I could put aside number 3 for a couple of hours rather easily, concede the size issue (this was a little harder to get past), and even give TC some credit for showing restraint in the role and playing it true to the spirit of the character.

That said, I’m happy to endorse the film for fans and for those unfamiliar with the books who want an easy entry point into the Reacher universe. The movie, very true to its source material,  is off and running from scene one with the sniper attack, and then the intrigue of the investigation takes over, and the tension mounts, and before you know it, you’re hooked. One of the things I love about the movie (and the books too) is that there are plenty of good old-fashioned fist fights, and not every action scene is a ridiculously violent-gross-out exercise in blood and guts. The film is as gripping as the novel. Highly recommended.

Of further interest…

Check out this excellent and detailed review of the Jack Reacher film from The Guardian, which, among other interesting observations, reveals Lee Child’s true identity.

FYI, look for Lee Child’s brief appearance in the film as the desk sergeant.

Zen thought for January 2013…

Having just returned from a long visit to Winnipeg, Canada, during the coldest time of the year there, I offer this Haiku by Buson, which reminds me of a night I stood looking out the window at the moon and the frozen snow:

Miles of frost—
on the lake
the moon’s my own

I always keep my fingers crossed that the first movie I see in the New Year is a thumbs-up as it may be a harbinger of good films to come. In my case, I took advantage of a gratis promotional ticket to see Promised Land. I’m a huge fan of dir. Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting, Elephant, Milk) and author Dave Eggers (the film is based on his story). In this movie, Matt Damon stars as a somewhat naïve corporate gas-company sales flunky, over-confident and misguided, buying up plots of land from downtrodden small-town farmers for hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.”

With quality building blocks like Van Sant, Eggers, and Damon, your expectations ought to run high. Promised Land delivers with a great story, excellent performances and direction, and at least one good plot twist you’re not likely to see coming. Supporting roles by Hal Holbrook and Frances McDormand don’t hurt. I was a wee bit disappointed in the low-chemistry romance and the obvious Hollywood ending (the two can’t really be separated), but that’s a marginal blemish in an otherwise engaging, timely, and thought-provoking film.

See Van Sant’s other movies if you haven’t already. And I highly recommend my favorite Eggers novel, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. You might also like the Huffington Post review of Promised Land, which I found balanced and fair.

First Zen thought of 2013…

In keeping with my film motif, here are 3 minutes and 28 seconds of Zen from Empty Mind Films. Take a deep breath and enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK_4Z5DZcNM

The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson is a rare literary treat. The book gives us a view into a way of life that is so completely foreign to the western world that the story is almost impossible to imagine even as the author is telling it. Set in the time of Kim Jong-il’s North Korea, Johnson starkly portrays the oppressive government and the whims of its leader while telling us the tale of Jun Do, the poor Orphan Master’s son.

Jun Do’s father sends him out to fend for himself at a very young age in the harsh, paranoid world of Jong-il’s brutal Communist dictatorship. Because Jun Do has a traditional orphan’s name, he is mistaken for an orphan and treated like one throughout the novel, which puts him at a distinct disadvantage wherever he goes. He is given pain training in the military where he’s used as a tunnel rat; he is assigned to a unit of kidnappers; he ends up on a fishing boat as a radio officer secretly monitoring naval transmissions; he travels with a delegation of North Koreans to visit a ranch in Texas; he steals the identity of a national hero and becomes Kim Jong-il’s right-hand man; and for all his troubles, he eventually ends up in a torture camp where no one knows who he really is or where he came from.

The story is part Kafkaesque fantasy, absurdist nightmare, and frighteningly real. Reading along (the storytelling is eminently readable) you can’t help but think that the seemingly random and crazy events that happen to Jun Do and shape his life must all add up to something, mean something—but as more and more of the story unfolds, it’s hard to say what. In the end, the events all do seem to come together in a not-quite-sane way, but do they make sense?

It’s a little scary that Johnson knows what he’s talking about. He visited North Korea and researched many defector testimonies in writing the book. The details of late 20th century life in North Korea that he writes about are shocking, horrible, bizarre, and true. According to the New York Times, Kim Jong-il, known as the Dear Leader, “presided with an iron hand over a country he kept on the edge of starvation and collapse, fostering perhaps the last personality cult in the Communist world even as he banished citizens deemed disloyal to gulags or sent assassins after defectors.” (Kim Jong-il)

You can’t help but fall in love with Jun Do, whose instincts for survival are uncanny, who seems to have a good heart and good intentions, although he commits some pretty heinous crimes. In fact, he’s such a great character, always dancing on the edge of hero and villain, annihilation and hope, that you may be disappointed (as I was) when the author strays from his story part way through the book and begins splitting the narrative. I think the novel loses a lot of steam then. But this is a minor gripe. It’s a good idea to read a novel that slaps you across the face every once in a while and screams, “Wake up!” into your sleepy brain. This one does the trick. Highly recommended.

Zen thought for December 2012…

“There is more to life than increasing its speed.”  —Mahatma Gandhi

Of further interest…

An interview with Adam Johnson: “Stanford scholar, bestselling author Adam Johnson shares secrets of his writing process.”

The Orphan Master’s Son
Adam Johnson
Publisher: Random House (2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0812982622
ISBN-13: 978-0812982626

As it turns out, old Pete and I, at one time in our lives, were both bookstore owners. The New York Times Book Review ran a brief interview with the famous rocker today:

NYT:  Where do you get your books and where do you read them?

Pete:  My old bookshop that I started myself in my hometown is still a lovely, familiar and private place for me to browse. It was called Magic Bus when I opened it, now it is called Open Book and owned by a friend who often recommends books I’ve missed. I also use Amazon and will use the B&N Web site when it comes to Europe. Bookshops will never completely disappear; they offer an experience of books that can’t be approached within a billion miles by the online equivalent.

Forget all that music stuff he did. This elevates the man to legendary status. Click here to read the full interview.

Zen thought for the 2012 holiday season…

It’s December, and the holidays are upon us. For many, this is a time of unparalleled angst. It seems a shame that so many people find themselves burdened with so much to do and so little time to enjoy themselves. That said, I’ll share this deceptively simple Zen cure from Eckhart Tolle’s book A New Earth:

“If peace is what you really want, then you will choose peace.” He goes on to say, “Behind the sometimes seemingly random or even chaotic succession of events in our lives as well as in the world lies concealed the unfolding of a higher order and purpose. This is beautifully expressed in the Zen saying ‘The snow falls, each flake in its appropriate place.’“

Maybe you have a habit of becoming overwhelmed and exhausted this time of year. If so, remember to choose peace, and to put each snowflake in its proper place.