Saturday, May 28, 2011

Apologies and Comments

Well it was feeling kind of lonely out here in blogger-land ;-) But since opening this blog I have had almost 1300 visits.  I so appreciate these visits.  Just checking settings today and somehow I disallowed comments - registered users only - ugh!  I have now fixed this.  If you return to this blog from time to time - sorry for the mishap.  Please know that you can leave comments anywhere and anytime now.

Folks can also connect with me also on Twitter and Goodreads

Getting out of the comfort zone a little bit.  The publisher is scheduling book events now at various locations - will update when these get scheduled.  I gave a reading tonight at a local arts gathering and had a great time doing it actually.  For readers who have read the book, it was pages 62-64.  That seemed appropriate to current affairs - you know what I mean. ;-)

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Off and Running

Well, the novel as been out for a little while now and I really appreciate the feedback I am getting from readers.  So far most are coming from Facebook.  Please everyone, feel free to join that Facebook page.  It will be a few weeks before some official 'reviews' trickle in.  I would just like to encourage everyone, if you have a little time, to comment on the novel wherever you purchased it - on their company websites - BarnesandNoble, Amazon, etc.


I am able to put a little time again to the next novel.  If you are interested in getting a 'feel' of that - please just click on the link above titled  FUN SHORT STORY.

Thanks again everyone.  Please stay tuned!

Friday, May 13, 2011

Sights and Sounds

One thing I strive towards in writing is to project an experience of place and character as true to life as I can.  To engage readers through their senses and every-day understanding.  That they can truly feel they are in a room, town, car, or wherever.  Whether new or old to a reader - real.  Also, over time, they might think, "Yeah, that is the way it is." Or, "I know that person or condition."  And in some cases, for some to possibly ponder, "what if...maybe...life has a bit more texture than I noticed when I last ran my had across it?"

There are many surprizes.  The story will take readers to unexpected (but real) places in terms of community social conditions.  The common, the everyplace 'Willow Springs', comes alive and becomes a compelling place to experience.

I strongly suspect that all our lives do this...when we take the time to experience the depth of our own lives and histories.  Don't you?

Monday, May 9, 2011

RELEASED!!!

May 10th is here and the novel Land Run is officially released!  Well, it will be in 20 minutes...and official when we all wake up in the morning.

At this stage the main site http://markgraham.tateauthor.com/ has a listing of available store locations.  But today I found out that it is literally everywhere now.  So if you even have a favorite local independent bookstore - they will very likely have it in their catalogue.

Please keep tracking for book-events to be scheduled in the coming months.

Thanks again to all the readers and I hope you enjoyed the story - Land Run.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Five Days!

I have been feeling a countdown for awhile.  I decided this is a marker of note to share - without being too annoying to folks,  I hope.

This work has actually been a long time coming.  But so worth it.  I have learned a great deal about writing and the publishing industry.  Without the experience of the process - it would be merely knowledge without understanding.  I have a history of creative writing courses, blogging, and dreaming.  But to take a completed narrative to the point of publication - has been a real education.

My confidence in the new project I am workng on is so much more than I had in decades of writing before.  But then I rarely wrote with the goal of a full novel-length narrative in mind.  Just short stories for a sense of closure and essays on various things to get off my mind.

This got me thinking:  Wisdom is understood as the application of knowledge.  And that is something gained through time and experience.  There really seems to be no way out of these manditory parameters of life.  But if we resign ourselves to this realistic condition I think we have a good chance to move more smoothly through our short time here.  And move with more joy and confidence. Appying grace to our failures and striving towards our hope and better future...along the way...day to day.

What did Kenny say?  You got to know when to hold them, when to fold them, when to walk away, and when to run.  And if we don't know...well, we will next time.  We're wrong sometimes..but we're not stupid!

Five days until Land Run releases! :-)

Thanks to all for checking this novel out.  I greatly hope you enjoy reading it.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Hello Australia!!

I just got this information today and thought it was cool.  The Borders bookstore in Australia is selling Land Run.  If anyone has friends there - please let them know its available.  :-)

Borders Australia - Land Run

A Reader's Manifesto

I don't know about you - but I have found that standing firm, holding tight to who you are is never easy.  But the the older I get the easier it gets.  There are many aspects to Land Run that does not meet certain CBA or ABA requirements (the gods of fiction publishing - Christian and secular).  But in this novel I strove towards a pretty simple and independant agenda.  Tell the truth - entertain - every word must fit the character, scene, and story.  That's it.  I found through the process of finding an agent and then a publisher - the literary world out there is not exactly a friend to this 'agenda' of mine.  They are friends to parts of it and contexualized versions of these goals of mine in this writing.  But that is not enough.  The control over art today is crazy to me.  Marketing has taken over what people can read and where they can access it even.  How did that happen?  I don't know.

I ran across this critique of literature a few years ago and found it very encouraging.  You may as well - so I will include it here.  If you have interest or time to read it - please leave your responses in the comments section (if you do - you will be like the first to do so ;-)

Readers Manifesto


One week until the 'release date' of the novel.  I need to google for what that means.  It is available now online at a lot of places. See the Land Run Website   But I think it is a date where the publisher issues advertisements and firms up 'book-events'.  It will be interesting and I hope...fun.