Twelfth and Race

2012-02-23T05:00:00.000-08:00

The countdown to publication continues. Exactly one week from today, Twelfth and Race will officially be published. As pre-pub weeks go, this has been a good one. Last Sunday night, February 19th, an interview with me ran on WVXU, the Cincinnati public radio station. The interview went quite well, I thought, when it was recorded back in January, to a large extent because when I walked into the interview booth at the radio station, it turned out I knew the interviewer: Barbara Gray. The name had sounded familiar, but because it's kind of a vanilla-sounding name, I didn't think much of it. Turns out that this Barbara Gray was the same Barbara Gray who was the assistant director of The New School in Cincinnati, the private Montessori both of my children attended. I hadn't seen Barbara Gray in 12 or 13 years. We were happily met in the control booth. She'd read the novel, asked intelligent, insightful questions. Okay, there were a few lobs, I admit, but because seeing her after all these years put me at my ease, I felt quite relaxed. And I think you can hear that in this interview, which went about as well as these things can go. Here's a link to the interview should you care to listen for yourself: http://198.234.121.108/aroundcincinnati/021912_EricGoodman.mp3

Yesterday, I was interviewed by Cincinnati Enquirer feature reporter Lauren Bishop. The article about the novel should run either Monday, February 27th or Tuesday, the 28th, just in time for the Mercantile Library reading on Tuesday, February 28th. I'm curious to see that article. Lauren Bishop sounded really sharp, and apologized--no need, of course--for the fact that the Enquirer no longer runs book reviews. What a world! Lauren Bishop, it turned out, went to Ithaca College and worked for the Ithaca Journal for 5 years before taking the job here in Cincinnati in 2003. So I probably read her work during the summer in Ithaca.

That's it for now. It's a gorgeous early spring morning here in Oxford. Yesterday, I saw my first purple crocuses, or should that be croci? near the mailboxes. Daffodils are next.

Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T04:18:00.000-08:00

So I'm sitting here with one of the fat cats on my lap, a light snow falling, waiting for the sun to rise.

I feel much the same anticipation about the looming publication date for Twelfth and Race.   It's all about to happen, yet I can't quite see what It is. The interview on WVXU, Cincinnati's NPR affiliate, will air this Sunday night, February 19th, sometime between 7 & 8 pm. The interviewer, Barbara Gray, is someone I used to know, way back in the day. Hadn't seen her in twelve or thirteen years. Knew I knew the name, but couldn't find the context until I entered the booth at the radio station down in Cincinnati.

Just last week, a reporter at the Cincinnati Enquirer contacted me about an interview for an article the newspaper is going to run before the Mercantile Library reading on February 28th.   So it's all coming. Because after the Mercantile is AWP, then several weeks of appearances.

And reviews?   Who knows.

The bare limbs of the trees outside my studio window are now outlined against the lightening sky. Soon, it will be full morning.

Author Copies Arrive Today

2012-01-26T03:34:00.000-08:00

Well, a cold rain pours down this morning in Oxford, Ohio. Last year, most years, it would have been snow, of course. But no worries, I've got a giant pot of chicken soup bubbling on the stove. Downstairs, the fireplace insert blows warmth into the family room. And this afternoon? Author copies arrive, my first glimpse of the finished book. Time from conception to holding the made object in my hot and eager hands? Maybe eight years. Maybe eight and a half, but who is counting?

Obviously, I am. And happy to be seeing it today.

These author copies took a somewhat circuitous route. My fantastic publisher, University of Nebraska Press, sent them to my fabulous agent, Michael Carlisle, in New York. I'd been wondering why they weren't here yet! So today, three of the original ten author's copies are making their way home to me. Notes in a bottle, tossed onto the inland ocean, washing up on my shore. In the 21st century, however, it's not the wind and tide that's closed the loop, but Fedex. (Btw, I've received no fee for product placement from Fedex).

My thanks to Meg Dobson, the first respondent, to this blog, for reminding me that bloggers need to blog. And yes, indeed, I am the very Eric Goodman, who will be teaching the Advanced Novel Writing course in Iowa City, the week of June 25th. I'll also be reading from Twelfth and Race at Iowa City's iconic bookstore, Prairie Lights, sometime that week.

Look for, at least, a weekly post, on Thursday mornings, from now throughout the spring.

New Blog for the New Novel

2012-01-13T10:12:00.000-08:00

This blog is to let everyone know that with the publication of Twelfth and Race less than two months away, I'll be starting to blog to let everyone know the latest news.