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Guest Post from Author Kevin Haworth: Fiction vs. Non-Fiction

May 28, 2013

The post below was written by author Kevin Haworth as part of his Famous Drownings in Literary History - Book Blog Tour. Learn more about Famous Drownings in Literary History at the publisher website. For a long time, I saw myself as a fiction writer. But for me, fiction was always as much about the “real world” as it was about my own imagination. For a future fiction writer, I was a very fact-oriented child; my most-read books were Zander Hollander’s Complete Handbook of Baseball series, a team-by-team listing of statistics, trivia, and odd personal info for every single major leaguer. I read my share of fiction, too—everything from comic books to Jack London—but my shelves of sports encyclopedias, WWII histories, and pocket biographies always felt just as important in sparking my imagination. So it’s no surprise that writing my first novel involved a lot of reckoning with the facts. …

They call me “Hipster Casanova.” Well, maybe not everyone, but Claire Wilkinson does.

March 19, 2013

In celebration of the release of his novel My Pet Serial Killer, Michael J Seidlinger is stopping by to transform me into a fictional serial killer, one of My Pet Serial Killer main character Claire Wilkinson's ex-boyfriends? I'm...honored? Alias/Known As: “Hipster Casanova” Real name: Caleb Ross Number of victims: 29 Description: Met victims at literature readings and art gallery events. Spoke with a clear and alluring accent said to be very charming by those that turned down his offers. Used self-deprecating, laid back conversation to let victim’s guard down. Often used the opening line, “Do I have something stuck between my teeth?” to start a conversation. Courted victim for approximately a week while waiting for inspiration to mount. Upon finding inspiration, approached victim with proposal to be a part of latest work of art. Used bladed weapons, nails, and other items to puncture, carve, and write into victim’s skin. After…

Pablo D’Stair’s 2007 book about a cat is being reissued

March 14, 2013

I'm always eager to promote Pablo D'Stair's work. It's my kind of stuff. So of course I'm going to let everyone know that his novel, Candour, is being re-released with a fancy new cover from Goodloe Byron. About Candour: An unnamed man suddenly begins succumbing to the horrors of a nightmarish disease. Secluding himself in his apartment rooms, his only companion is his cat, Alastair Cello, who he determines to keep unaware of his impending death. BUY IT HERE – a hardcopy straight from the printer is 47% off list price ($4.24, down from $10) by entering the following DISCOUNT CODE: SSZ8VB6L

Watch book-related videos, win something cool.

August 16, 2012

As I get more and more into this YouTube channel thing, I’m starting to understand more about the YouTube community. One thing I’ve noticed is that when channels hit subscriber milestones (100 subscribers, 500 subscribers, etc.) they do something special as a way to say thank you. So, I’m going to do just that. I currently have 75 subscribers. Once I hit 100 subscribers I am going to give something away to one randomly chosen subscriber. What will that giveaway be? Not sure yet, but I promise it will be good and it will be made by my very own hands. I generally err on the side of handmade slipcases and a copy of one of my books, but who knows, maybe I’ll do more. Here's how it will work: You MUST be a subscriber to my YouTube channel. Once I hit 100 subscribers I'll make a video outlining the…

YouTube gets a facelift. Subscribe to Laugh.

July 25, 2012

Some of you might not know this, but I have a YouTube channel. A good one, at that. Well, good enough. Fewer of you might know that my last two videos look much different than all previous videos (I could use cool terms like gamma correction, rack focus, white balance, and adequate lighting, but I won’t). Fewer still might know that just yesterday I gave the channel a bit of a facelift. While a visual update to a YouTube channel probably doesn’t constitute a blog post, it does, when paired with the aforementioned news of the new videos, mean that I can sneak by with a legitimate announcement. So: Head over to my channel and SUBSCRIBE to the damn thing. Please. Watch a couple videos, and PLEASE GIVE A THUMBS UP OR TWO.

The Versatile Blogger Award nominee

July 4, 2012

A quick thanks to Jennifer over at Donnie Dark Girl for nominating this blog for the Versatile Blogger Award. It means a lot when I learn that people actually read this blog.

What do negative reader reviews of my favorite books say about me (or the stupid reviewers)?

July 1, 2012

House of Leaves is easily one of the most impressive novels, both in terms of story and in terms of execution, that has ever been written, and likely, will ever be written. So when doo-doo heads like this mollyflower Amazon reviewer write things like: my immediate reaction is to dismiss this person as an impatient moron. However, when I then realize this person gave a glowing review to The Best of Mr. Bean DVD, I go from angry to compassionate. I mean, how could I hate someone with water on the brain? (all caps courtesy of mollyflower; he/she is damn serious about the perceived hilarity of Mr. Bean) Like House of Leaves, Blindness by Jose Saramago is simply an excellent piece of literature. It challenges, but also ensures a strong story with interesting characters, while delivering a unique writing style, something wholly unique to Saramago. However, if you only read…