A Virtual Reading

Rick Kleffel, out in Northern  California, runs one of the most interesting websites and does  just a wonderfully thoughtful job at interviewing, that the whole experience becomes like a virtual reading.  In his Agony Column, Rick reviews Angels.  The first section is a reading from the novel--the same chapter I read in bookstores--and the rest is an intelligent chat about the book, the writing process, and the meaning of it all.  

Eye on Books

Eye on Books, hosted by Bill Thompson, did a Q&A recently about Angels -- click below for a listen.

What's Next?

Conversations and Connections, the third annual conference for writers will be on April 11th in Washington. Sponsored by Johns Hopkins University, Montgomery College, and others, the one-day event is designed for writers looking to be published (that's all of us). I'll be on a panel called Juggling POVs in which I promise to levitate angels and/or faeries.

Politics & Prose

Angels was #1 in Fiction at Politics & Prose this past week, thanks no doubt to everyone who came to the reading on Sunday. Gwen Ifell's new book was #1 in Non-fiction, so good company indeed. A hundred thousand thanks.

There's no place quite like an independent bookstore, and P&P is especially labyrinthian enough to get lost in, a little like dreamland.

Resurrection

So the Washington Post reviewed Angels the other day, and thanks be for Liz Hand, a perfect stranger, who did the right thing.

Back from Pittsburgh and the reading at Joseph-Beth where a few of the clan showed up. I heard for the first time, the story of my grandfather's Irish wake, back in 1936, when they still laid out the body at home. Seems a couple of the lads had a bit much to drink and wanted to raise a glass to Doc, so they took him out of the casket and sat him up in a chair, and properly toasted him. Now, I can't vouch for the story, but the aunties insist it true, so be it.

Long and Winding Road

Catching my breath after a few days on the West Coast and meeting the marvelous people of Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Iowa City, and Milwaukee. Whew.

My old stomping grounds in Pittsburgh are next--tomorrow night at Joseph-Beth on the Southside. I love coming back to the hometown, seeing the old crowd, visiting the old school. Angels is set, in part, just outside of the city in a mythical place along the Monogahela River. Back in the day, I could see the river flow far below my dorm room and off to the west catch the orange glow of the steel mills. The people there were always strangely friendly, angels almost.

Hope to see you at the bookstore!

The Snow Man

Angels of Destruction arrives tomorrow, but the snowstorm came last night. Perfect timing since the novel begins in the middle of winter and snow falls frequently in the pages (be careful to shake out the book before reading). Puts me in mind, again, of Wallace Stevens's poem "The Snow Man."

The new web site for Angels of Destruction is up and running. Everything is ready to go. Now, if I can just get to the airport...