Tuesday, September 18, 2012

An Important Review

Yesterday, I was pleased to see an email from Indigene from Indie Review blog.  I had sent her The Long Road from Perdition several months ago to review and after being slammed with work, she was able to finally offer a critique to my work.

You know, reviewers, avid readers and the like are so important to Indie authors such as myself.  I have to say, the waiting for the review is the worst part, but I am pleasantly pleased with her comments on my novel. See what you think: CLICK HERE for the review posted on her website.

Do yourself a favor and bookmark her blog, INDIE REVIEWS.  She is a voracious reader and offers exceptional insight into the books she reads.  She's really something.

Thank you, Indigene.

A sample of her review:

"...I found the author's writing style to be quite an interesting mixture of realism and romanticism, with strong elements of the American southern gothic tale. While the author does not hold back in describing the harshness and horror of Nicholas' reality, in particular during the first part of the story, the writing style also provides somewhat of a buffer to this reality allowing the reader to safely remain with Nicholas through his journey and yet not lose the emotional impact of all that the character experiences throughout the novel ."

Monday, September 10, 2012

The Familiar Stench of Southeast Texas

As I was glancing through some posts on Facebook, I saw an entry with a short video attached by Mary Karr, the famous memoirist/poet from Groves, Texas.  I clicked on the video and watched as she and her sister filmed their journey into Port Arthur, Texas.

They shared memories of Luby's cafeteria, the countless refineries with "alien-like pods" or storage tanks that were plentiful on the grounds.  Then, it happened.  That familiar, God-awful stench of rotten eggs permeated the air.  The overhang of pollution and sludge was thick in the air and the sisters giggled at the foul stench wondering aloud how they ever survived the smell!

The funniest comment came from Karr as she quipped, "I can't begin to tell you just how much of nothing there is out here."  I chuckled.  That's why I included that stench in my novel, "The Long Road from Perdition".  Karr speaks of it as well in her own memoir, The Liar's Club.

If Nicholas hadn't made mention of the pollution and rotten smell of his home town, it wouldn't have been a major oversight for someone writing about southeast Texas.

No one knew better than Nicholas that there's "so much of nothing" in his hometown.  But, it was his hometown nonetheless.  Thanks to Mary Karr for that familiar journey that is pure Golden Triangle nostalgia.

JRS