Today is the long-awaited launch date of Hell or High Water, the new crime thriller by my former teacher (and good friend) Joy Castro. I’m waiting for UPS to deliver my copy; until then I’ve been enjoying the short fiction in Steven Huff’s A Pig in Paris.
In other book news, Clifford Garstang’s new book, What the Zhang Boys Know hits bookstores in October. Here’s the book description from Amazon:
“What the Zhang Boys Know has a dozen chapters, each one a vivid short story in itself. Garstang makes the whole greater than the sum of its parts. The lives of the inhabitants of a condominium in Washington, D.C.’s Chinatown are told separately and as part of a web of entanglements. The entrances and exits are handled with the deftness of a French comedy, but the empathy of the author brings all the characters achingly alive. What the Zhang Boys Know is a wonderful and haunting book.” – John Casey, author of Compass Rose and Spartina, winner of the National Book Award
Sounds great, and I look forward to reading it. Cliff is one of the editors of Prime Number Magazine.
Finally, a shout out to blogger extraordinaire Cindy Zelman, who recently got one of those “good rejections” from a very well-known literary journal. The editor took the time to let Cindy know that the staff had really enjoyed her essay, “Stuck in the Middle,” even though it didn’t meet their needs at this time. The editor also said she hopes to read more of Cindy’s work in the future (as do all of her loyal readers).
That’s just the kind of thing any writer wants to hear. To paraphrase: “They like you, they really like you!” Congrats, Cindy!
Hi Faye,
It was so generous of you to mention my “good” rejection by the well-known literary journal and to mention my blog, when you had so many others to highlight today.
I have not yet read Joy Castro’s Hell or High Water, but my mother, lover of mysteries, has. She said it was excellent, that it should be made into a movie, that she learned a lot from reading it. Furthermore, she consumed the book in a day. I can’t wait to read it myself, although it’s in queue with several other books.
I love Steve Huff’s “A Pig In Paris,” collection, as you know. I have a book of poetry of his, “More Daring Escapes,” I believe it’s called, which I’m also looking forward to reading.
I haven’t yet read Clifford’s work, but I have no doubt it’s fabulous.
Thank you again, Faye, for mentioning my blog and my “they like you” rejection. You’re the best. Cindy
Thank you for the info.!
Thanks for the mention, Faye! The book is actually already available for pre-order from the publisher and it will ship in August, long before it’s available on Amazon. If anyone’s interested, that’s http://www.press53.com