|
February 21, 2007
Amazon Connect: I've been playing around with this Amazon program this morning. Apparently, once Barricade verifies me as the author of Blood & Volume, I'll be able to post messages directly to my customers. I've been having trouble updating the feed from this blog (recent posts don;t seem to load), but it still seems like a great promotional tool for any one trying to move books on Amazon.
My profile is here. If you use Amazon -- and it seems there are a lot of people who do use Amazon like a MySpace for book nerds -- add me as a friend.
Thanks for the tip, Taryn.Labels: bloodandvolume, books, writing
Posted at 11:58 AM
link |
|
Return to Dave Copeland's Blog
February 2, 2007
Another day, another interview: I'm interviewed on Tim Jackson's Maybe I'm Amazed. I talk about book groupies (sort of) and other literary stuff, as well as my taste in music.
And don't forget yesterday's interview at tellhimfred.com.Labels: blogging, bloodandvolume, books, life
Posted at 3:46 PM
link |
|
Return to Dave Copeland's Blog
February 1, 2007
Me as a regular person: I am featured in today's edition of tellhimfred.com's "Interviews With Regular People." I talk about Blood & Volume, book promotion, film, blogging and my "to do" list system for keeping organized and productive.Labels: blogging, bloodandvolume, books, life
Posted at 9:10 AM
link |
|
Return to Dave Copeland's Blog
January 29, 2007
I'm back from New York: And apologies for not tipping off most of my New York friends that I'd be in town -- it was a packed, last-minute trip that lasted for less than 24 hours and didn't leave me much time to hang.
Every trip to New York gives me a charge. It's the place where people go to give up on their dreams or pursue them with gusto. From a creative standpoint, it's a lot like traveling to Europe (minus the long flight, awful exchange rates and feeling like a foreigner). I'm dog tired when I get back but I want to work, throw some more irons onto the fire and get some more projects in motion.
Over dinner last night we worked out details for promoting Blood & Volume and finalized some loose ends for the book release party on March 8. Over breakfast we hashed out the outline for a new project, a screenplay that's part "Wall Street," part "Blow" and part "Old School." Over lunch we networked with someone who may have contacts we can exploit to distribute the documentary. All that in addition to the real reason why I was there (a job interview -- more on that later).
But the highlight was not work related. It was a trip to Chumley's.
 I have been to Chumley's about half a dozen times before. It's an old speakeasy with no signage on its exterior. Just a door as if it were the entrance to an expensive Greenwich Village apartment. Chumley's is rich in history -- if you've ever used the term "86 it," you can thank Chumley's: "According to legend (which party pooper McDermott disputes) the term '86 it' for 'kill it' or 'forget about it' comes from a warning the cops would give, phoning ahead to Chumley to let him know they were on the way and customers should '86' or book out the entrance/exit."
I had been there about half a dozen times before, but have never really picked up on how literary it is. We sat in back and soon noticed the framed jackets of famous (Catcher In The Rye, The Great Gatsby) and not-so-famous (UFO Exist!) books. A note on the menu said that the jackets decorating the bar are from books written by guests of Chumley's.
I was a guest of Chumley's and I immediately wanted the B&V cover on a wall. Even if it does look like someone dropped their kids on it, it's an eye-catching cover that would jump off of those walls. It would be installed long after smoking was banned in New York bars, meaning it wouldn't be as faded as, say, the cover of Calvin Trillan's book, so it may stand out and move a few copies.
A waitress told us the note on the menu was "bull shit." To get a cover on the wall I'd have to talk with the owner and show that I was a regular at Chumley's (geography makes that difficult). To make it more difficult, the owner is vacationing until the end of March.
"Or you could just slip it in when no one was looking," the well-tipped waitress said. "No one would notice."
I should have copies of the book in another couple of weeks and will hopefully have reason to be in New York shortly thereafter. I'll try to convince the owner I'm a regular, but even failing that, don't be surprised if you see the B&V jacket up there sometime soon.Labels: bloodandvolume, books, newyork, travel
Posted at 8:52 PM
link |
|
Return to Dave Copeland's Blog
January 13, 2007
Post Secret book excerpt: There's a new Post Secret book out and I kinda liked this quote from the excerpt: "Every single person has at least one secret that would break your heart. If we could just remember this, I think there would be a lot more compassion and tolerance in the world"
 Doesn't mean I'm gonna buy the book, but still...kind of cool.Labels: books
Posted at 3:31 PM
link |
|
Return to Dave Copeland's Blog
December 19, 2006
My year in books: It's been a bad reading year for me. At times it seems like the only things I've read were the various drafts of Blood & Volume, and with proofs expected this week, it looks like I'll have to read it at least one more time before the calendar flips. I found it hard to find time to really get into too many books this year, settling for 5-10 pages before bed and a couple of pages in between subway stops.
But if I really stop and think about it, I did get a ton of reading in this year. What follows is a partial list of the 40 or so books that were on my nightstand in 2006 that really jumped out.
Crazy , by Pete Earley: I'm not saying it solely because he was my best mentor at Goucher, but I did have a behind-the scenes look at how this book was put together. It was the one piece of journalism I read this year that moved me enough to be angry with the system, but the memoir aspects made it very readable and accessible.
Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found , by Suketu Mehta: This book, which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, is looking like it may slip into 2007 for me. I'm supposed to have coffee with the author when I get to New York on Saturday afternoon and was hoping to have finished this by then. It is very long with unfamiliar Indian names which have made it a slow read for me, but it is beautifully written and captivating. He's now working on a book about New York which I suspect will be equally good.
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals , by Michael Pollan: It was my trendy book of the year, but, like Crazy, it got me thinking. I rarely re-read books but have considered taking another stab at it to figure out his rather brilliant structure.
On Writing , by Stephen King: I'm an admirer but not a fan of Stephen King. On Writing had lots of good tips for everyone from beginner's to pros, and was written with King's typical sense of detail. He also explains why he pulls out a book to read between innings at Fenway or while standing in line at the bank. The writing of the book straddled the car crash where he was hit and nearly killed while walking near his home in Maine, so the added bonus is the two distinctly different voice in a book that is about more than simply writing.
Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea , by Gary Kinder: It's detailed, historical nonfiction combined with contemporary reporting and research. If I recall correctly, it took him 10 agonizing years to write and the effort shows in the final product. Mentioned partially because last night at Shay's in Harvard Square I ironically saw -- but did not speak to -- the ex-girlfriend who gave it to me last Christmas. Sorry for being rude. Thanks for the book.
For the record, this post is going to be my entry in ProBlogger's Reviews & Previews Group Writing Project.Labels: books, writing
Posted at 10:41 AM
link |
|
Return to Dave Copeland's Blog
|
